Yet To Be Titled
by TheWindAlchemist
Summary: She always wondered why her own brother didn't look like everyone else in the family... DeiHinaSaso Neji. EPILOGUE EPILOGE EPILOGUE!
1. Return

Inspiration came dead in the middle of the night- when I was just doodling some DeiHina crap XD Probably NejiHinaDei… hm…

Oh, just to warn you all… at the point where this gets confusing for you, I strongly recommend that you stop reading… I have no need to know how confused you are and have no intention of making it better…

Otherwise, enjoy!

Chapter 1

_She always wondered why her own brother was different from everyone else in the family. He had blonde hair with blue eyes, while everyone else had dark brown or blue hair with clear, lavender tinted ones… _

Hinata Hyuga (Age 6) was on her knees in prayer on the side of her bed. It was time for bed, and she only prayed when something that required her to do so came up. This time, she was praying for her brother, Deidara (Age 8). He looked a little sad today, and she wanted him to feel better.

"God… Deidara-nii-san looked sad today… please tell me how to make him feel better… Amen." Hinata whispered. She crawled into bed and turned off the lamp beside her bed.

In the other room, she heard familiar voices talking. Getting out of bed, Hinata tip-toed towards the door to see what was going on. Her parents and Deidara were talking about something, so she watched from the slightly open door.

"Dad… Why am I different from everyone else?" Deidara asked.

He watched Hiashi's expression carefully. Hiashi turned slightly to look at his wife beside him. She nodded.

"Deidara, we have something to tell you."

Hinata couldn't hear the rest, but she could hear some. "Adopted, Not really our child, and don't get upset." She thought that pretty much explained everything. But Deidara spoke up again.

"…Why me?" he asked, a little quieter than before. "…Because… you were special. We love you, honey." Mom said. "… Okay…" Deidara turned around, his eyes fixed on the ground.

Hinata leaned a little too much on the door and accidentally made a creaking sound, making Deidara look up. "D-Deidara-nii-san?" she said nervously. Deidara gave her a sad look but then took her hand in his. "What are you doing up, Hina-chan? It's late." He said, smiling. "Sorry…" Hinata glanced back at Hiashi and her mother. "Good night, kids." She said.

Deidara closed the door behind them when they got to the bedroom. "I know you're awake Neji." He said. Neji (Age 8), who was sleeping in the bed next to Hinata's, sat up in bed. "What was that all about?" he asked Deidara. "… It was nothing." He tucked Hinata into bed and climbed the bunk bed ladder up to his bed. "Night you guys." He said, turning off the lights.

At about midnight, when Neji made sure that Hinata was asleep, Neji climbed up to Deidara's bed and shook him awake. "Hrm… what?" Deidara asked, rubbing his eyes. "Spill it. I wanna know what you guys were talking about out there in the living room." Neji said. He hated not knowing things. "I told you already, right? It's nothing…" Deidara said, about to fall asleep again, but Neji took his pillow.

Deidara glared at him. "Okay, now I'm getting pissed. Give hat back." He said. "Tell me what happened first," Neji somehow made the pillow sound like a machine gun and aimed at Deidara. "Or else." He said.

The two heard someone coming up the ladder of the bunk bed. "…What are you guys doing up here…?" Hinata asked sleepily, rubbing her eyes. "N-Nothing…" Deidara said. "I wanna know what you and daddy was talking about." Hinata rested her head on the bed and smiled, looking incredibly cute.

"…Okay…" Deidara said. He paused for a moment. Then he began to tell them about what happened. When he finished, Hinata crawled over to him and gave him a hug. "That's a very, very bad thing to tell kids like us." She said. Deidara wrapped his arms around her too. "…Yeah… thanks." Neji just sat there silently, almost regretting asking Deidara to tell him about that.

Almost.

"Well, no matter what, you'll always be a brother to me." He said. Deidara looked at him. "We're all best friends here." He added. They sat in silence in the dark for a few minutes.

And in that time, Hinata had fallen asleep in Deidara's arms. He gently laid her down in his own bed. "If they're not my real parents… then who is?" he asked Neji, who was still awake. "You're not thinking about looking for them, are you?" he asked. "… I know I can't tell you, now can I?"

"But come on! You're only 8! You can't just walk outta here and go on living!" Neji started, his voice rising. "Shh…" Deidara brushed away a few strands of hair from Hinata's face. "She's still sleeping. You go to sleep too." He said. Neji plopped down right beside the ladder. "So I'll know if you try to leave." He said. Deidara smiled. "Alright."

"Night."

"Yeah, g'night."

-:-

"Did you guys hear? There's this new threat to society called 'Akatsuki'. They say they're high level criminals at large." A pink haired girl was talking to a group of girls in the classroom today. "I heard that one of them is Sasuke Uchiha's brother." The one with brown hair tied up in two buns said. "Shh! He's right there! He hates it when we talk about it!" The blonde one glanced at Sasuke, who was sitting across the room. He didn't do anything.

Hinata Hyuga (now age 16) glanced back at the girls who suddenly started talking about how hot Sasuke was. She looked around and realized that she was the only girl not in that conversation.

"Oh god, the girls are talking again…" Shikamaru, who was sitting beside her groaned. "What do you think about this Akatsuki stuff, Shikamaru-kun?" Hinata asked. "Me? I'm not worrying about anything. The girls are just overreacting. Speaking of which, why aren't you in that group over there?" he asked. "I'm just… someone here to talk to when they finally snap, that's all." Hinata smiled at him.

"By the way, how are things going with Ino-chan?" she asked. Shikamaru turned pink and avoided eye contact. "I haven't told her anything yet…" he muttered shamefully. "I see… good luck then…" Hinata laughed a little.

As class began, Hinata started to zone out and think about other things. Like how it's been ten years since her adopted brother Deidara was last seen. It was strange, that never used to bother her before. Was it because she kept seeing glimpses of blonde hair in her room? Deidara had blonde hair. Or was it because we still had that picture of him in the living room? Whatever it was, it was just a distraction from her studies.

"Hinata!" The teacher sharply called her name. Hinata snapped out of her thoughts. "Huh?" she squeaked. "Answer this question _now_ or I'll have to send you to the principal's office!" The teacher yelled. "Y-Yes sir, sorry sir…!" The whole school day went downhill from there. It wasn't until she walked home with Neji that things started to brighten up.

"So, how was school today?" Neji asked. "…I've had better…" Hinata said, leaning on Neji for support. "Aw, it couldn't have been that bad. What happened?" he asked, telling her to get off. "Well… I've been a little lost in my own thoughts lately and…" she trailed off. "Hm?" Neji told her to continue.

"Uh… You remember… our adopted brother… Deidara-nii-san? Have you been wondering about him lately? I mean… do you ever wonder what he's doing right now?" Hinata asked. Neji looked like he was about to say something, but paused. "…You should just forget about him. He couldn't take being adopted, so he ran away. As if that's gonna make things better." Neji said. "H-How can you be so cold-hearted! He used to be our brother! I remember that you two were best friends!" Hinata said.

Neji looked at her. "Hinata, that's all in the past now. You shouldn't let Deidara get in the way of school. Now come on, I smell dinner cooking at home already." The two walked faster as their house

They opened the door and realized that no one was home.

Hinata went up the stairs to look for their parents while Neji went to look in the living room and the rest of downstairs.

Hinata looked in each and every room until finally she heard a loud thud come from their parent's room. She opened the door slowly, whispering, "Mom? Dad…?" There was blood on the wall. Opening the door all the way, she gasped at what she saw.

"Deidara…nii…san…" She said softly. The blonde in the room turned around, a caught a little off guard. "Ah…" Hinata didn't dare look at the two bodies on the floor; she knew who they were. "Mom… Dad…" She was about to scream, but Deidara pushed her face to his chest. "Mrfm! WHY THE CHEST!?" She yelled. Deidara held up his hand where a mouth was licking its lips. "Would you rather have this in your mouth?" he asked. Hinata stayed silent, a few tears rolling down her cheeks.

Neji was running up the stairs and towards the room they were in. He caught a glimpse of a black cloak running back into the room. "Hinata!" he yelled.

Deidara realized that someone was coming and threw his cloak over Hinata's shoulders. "Tell him that I did it, and this cloak won't be the only thing I'm coming back for." He growled at her. For the first time in her life, Hinata was afraid of her adopted brother. He let her slide to the floor as he made his escape through the open window from where he came.

Neji stormed in, his expression changing to disgust when he saw the bodies of his parents on the floor. Then he saw Hinata crying in the corner beside him. "Hinata! What happened?" He bent down and gently placed his hands on her shoulders. He decided to ignore the cloak for now.

Hinata hugged him tightly, crying into his chest. "N-Neji-nii-san…" She sobbed. Neji took this time to ask her about the cloak. "Where did you get this?" he asked, taking the cloak off of her. Hinata automatically tried to say Deidara, but his words ran through her mind again. So instead, she answered, "A-An Akatsuki gave it to me… A-And he k-killed Mom and Dad…"

Neji kissed her head. "It's okay now. I'll call the police. Everything will be fine." He said, helping her up. He told her to go wash up; there were a few bloodstains on her pants.

As she made her way to the bathroom, she froze. "I'm scared." She realized. Neji had gone to get a phone, leaving her alone in the bathroom. It was frightening to look in a mirror with all the blood on her clothes.

"Neji-nii-san!" She shrieked, and immediately he was in front of her. "Is something wrong?" he asked. Well, of course something was wrong. Their parents were dead and lying on the floor with blood on _everything_. The two stayed silent. "I… I-I'm scared. C-Can you call the police from right here, please? I don't want to be alone." She said, grabbing his arm. Neji gave her a small smile. "Hinata, I'm always going to be here. You don't have to worry like this. If that Akatsuki guy comes back, I'll be right there to beat him up." Hinata smiled. "Thank you." She said, resting her head on his shoulder.

Hearing him say that comforted her a little. Neji kissed her head again and told her to get back to cleaning herself up. "We're gonna be okay, I promise." He said, walking to get the phone downstairs.

Hinata chose to just take a relaxing dip in the tub. She looked up at the ceiling and started to think. _Deidara-nii-san… What have you been doing these past ten years…?_ She closed her eyes, tears falling out. _I don't like being afraid of you… why did you do this?_ She sat up and washed the tears away with water. She remembered his scent; it was the smell of blood. His eyes had the look of murder. He looked as if he never smiled for a long time. _Deidara-nii-san… what happened to you?_

She heard Neji knock on the door. "Hinata, don't put your dirty clothes away. They might have some kind of evidence about Mom and Dad." He said, opening the door slightly. "Neji-nii-san…" she sobbed. He let himself into the room. "Are you done? The police will be here soon. They're going to take care of everything." He told her. Hinata grabbed a towel from the rack and wrapped it around her body. "Alright, I'll go change now." She said. Neji left the bathroom.

The police came, like Neji said. They asked him all the questions. They all left later that night, taking her clothes. Neji decided to keep the Akatsuki cloak. When Hinata closed the door, she asked him why. "Well, simple. If what I hear about the Akatsuki is true, they can't afford new clothes such as their cloaks. The one who left it to you would definatly come back for it. If he finds out that we gave it to the police, he gets mad, we get killed, he kills the police if he's that good, and then we've doomed all of Konoha." Hinata nodded slowly as she registered what he said into her head.

"Hinata." Neji began. "Hm?" Hinata looked at him. "I'd feel… a lot better if…" He turned red. "Nii-san?" Hinata told him to continue. "Well… I… I'd feel a lot better if you slept with me from now on." The two shared an awkward silence. "… I-I-I mean… I know that seeing Mom and Dad… like that… was very… scary. I just thought that… you know, if you wanted to, you could sleep with me in my room… so I could watch over you. Protect you, and whatnot…" By now, Neji was a very dark red.

Hinata walked over and held his hand. "Alright. If it makes you more comfortable, I will." She smiled at him. Neji sighed. "Good."

-:-

"Deidara, where's your cloak?" Pein asked Deidara as he walked through the door. "… I'll get it back later." Deidara answered, walking to his room. "No, you'll get it back tomorrow. First thing in the morning. Even before breakfast, you will get that cloak back." Pein ordered. Deidara sighed. "Yeah, yeah… I gotcha." A few seconds later the leader was out of sight.

_Damn, it's late…_ Deidara thought, changing into a shirt and shorts for sleeping. He crawled into bed and rested his head on the pillow, facing his side table. On the table he saw a picture of Hinata. He remembered her horrified look when she saw him, and he mentally cursed himself. _Ugh… honestly…_

He thought he'd cut all ties with her when he ran away. He never would've guessed that even a picture of her was one of those strings. _I really do miss her though…_ How could he do that to Hinata? Kill her parents… threaten to kill her if she told anyone… He had the option of choosing a different mission, but he chose that one. He knew it would cause everyone he came to love trouble, but he did it anyway.

_I've become such a monster, haven't I?_ He asked the picture as he made it face down so he couldn't see it. He just didn't care anymore.

-:-

I don't know! Plot Bunnies ambush you at random in the middle of the night while you're sleeping! How shameful!

So here's the lowdown on this story:

Deidara, Hinata, and Neji were very close as brother, sister, and brother (again). One night, Hinata overhears a conversation between Deidara and their parents. It turns out that her brother, Deidara, is adopted! The next few days, Deidara runs away in search of his real parents. But instead of his parents, Deidara found Akatsuki.

Now, after a 10 year separation, Deidara returns to Konoha on a mission from the evil organization: To kill Hiashi Hyuga and his wife. He succeeds in his task, but is seen by his sister Hinata. On reflex, he threatens her so she won't tell the police, and leaves his cloak with her so he has a reason to see her again.

But how will Hinata react when she sees him again after seeing him kill her own parents?

-:-

I cannot think of a better way to explain it… so don't ask, alright?

PS: Any suggestions for a title would be very much appreciated. Thank you.


	2. The Mission

This chapter (and a huge plot for the story) was inspired by a message Sora Tsubasa left me. THANKS SO MUCH!! Now all I need is a title…

-:-

School was close to Hell. Everybody in the class was gathered around Hinata, asking her questions about her parents and the Akatsuki.

"What did he look like?"

"Why did he kill _your_ parents?"

"Was he hot?"

"That's so exciting!"

Some people were _so_ insensitive. She was an orphan now, and her brother who she hasn't seen in 10 years returns only to kill their parents. Not that they knew that.

Hinata showed them a fake smile. "I didn't get a good look at him." She lied. "…He left me in the room after cutting me off from screaming… Then Neji-nii-san came." Everyone groaned in disappointment. "That's all?" One of them sighed. The teacher was at his desk, engrossed in the book he was reading. He wouldn't put it down, so everyone declared it study hall… without the study.

In the partial silence of the room, Hinata started to think again. _My brother is an Akatsuki… an assassin…_ Part of her thought that was cool. The other half said that he killed Mom and Dad. That part won, of course. Suddenly she remembered that she had a report due tomorrow, and used that to escape from what she might think of next.

-:-

Deidara made his way to the door until Pein stopped him. "Oh, hey, Deidara. I found the most convenient mission for you while you go out to get your cloak back." He handed Deidara a folder. "It has a recent photo of her and where she lives. Have fun!" Pein patted his shoulder and let him leave.

_Ugh… another woman to kill… I hate it when I get woman targets…_ He froze when he opened the folder. _Oh shit._

Clear eyes. Dark blue hair. (_Boobs)_. "Hinata…?" He said out loud. He looked up and saw Pein leaning out the window. "Oh, Deidara! In case you take a long time, here's a list of all the missions I have set up for you. If you finish all of them while you're gone, you get one week off!" Pein saw Deidara staring at the picture of Hinata as he dropped the other folders in his arms.

"Pretty, isn't she? Too bad she has to die. She's the daughter of the last guy you killed." Deidara stared up at him in almost disbelief. "Well? What're you waiting for? Get going!" Pein yelled at him. Deidara started running towards Konoha, thinking over his next target.

_OH SHIT, OH SHIT, OH SHIT, OH SHIT!_ Well, sorta.

After about 300 more _OH SHIT_s, Deidara made it to Hinata and Neji's house.

-:-

Hinata met Neji at the gate and the two walked home together. This time they held hands. On the way, a few people came up to them to tell that they were very sorry for their loss, and all the other things people told you when someone died. It didn't make them feel much better, but it was nice to know people cared.

Neji opened the door to the house, letting Hinata go in first. He heard her almost scream, but it became muffled by something. He closed the door behind him and when he turned around, he saw a blonde man hugging Hinata. "Hey! Let her go!" He shoved the man aside, but realized that the person looked very familiar.

Deidara smiled playfully as Neji tried to remember who he was. After about five minutes, Deidara started to get annoyed. "Dei-Da-Ra." He said slowly. Then Neji leaned back, grinning. "Deidara! You came back!" he said happily. "Hey! You remembered!"

Hinata backed away a little. Deidara noticed this and pulled her back into a hug. She realized that the smell of blood was gone. She glanced at his hands and noticed that he was wearing gloves without the fingers. "I missed you!" he said, squeezing her tight. When Neji cleared his throat, he pulled away.

"By the way, I haven't seen Mom or Dad around." Deidara said. Hinata glared at him. _He did not just ask that…_ she started. Deidara noticed her glare and almost smirked, making her blink back in surprise. Neji had a sad look on his face. "… Mom and Dad… they were killed… by an Akatsuki."

The room was silent. _Say something. Say something that'll get you in big trouble. Something about the cloak! Expose yourself for the heartless bastard you are!_ Hinata mentally yelled at him. But Deidara kept his face neutral. Hinata stormed inbetween them and stomped all the way to her room.

She threw her bag onto the bed and changed into different clothes. Then she sat on her bed and cried. _AAGH! I hate crying like this! Stop! Don't cry!_ She yelled at herself. The door to her room opened and someone walked in. The person wrapped an arm around her, but she didn't bother to see who it was.

"… Is my being here bothering you?" the person asked. Hinata looked up and realized that Deidara was the one hugging her. She wanted to push him away but couldn't. Instead she wrapped her arms around him too. "Deidara-nii-san… I missed you so much… Why did you-" Deidara told her to be quiet. He knew Neji was listening outside in the hallway.

"Look, I'm sorry about Mom and Dad. But it had to be done." Deidara said, letting go of the hug. "Why?" She asked, clutching to his sleeves. He sighed. "Just… because." With that he left the room, helping Neji up to his feet at the door. Then Neji came into Hinata's room.

"Hey… you okay?" he asked, getting on his knees in front of her. "… I'm just really sad right now…" Hinata said. "Why? Deidara's back. I don't know for how long, but we haven't seen him in a while." Neji held her hand. Hinata smiled at him. "Yeah…" She heard his stomach growl, and he turned red. "Hungry?" She asked. "Can you cook?" he asked, getting up. "Mom taught me a little…" Hinata got up and walked with him down to the kitchen.

Deidara was sleeping on the kitchen table, but woke up when Hinata and Neji came in. He saw them holding hands. "What, you two going out or sumthin?" he asked, his voice muffled by his arm. Neji quickly let go of Hinata's hand. "NO!" He yelled, turning red. Hinata just laughed. _Hm… she has a cute laugh… _Deidara thought.

Hinata put on an apron and turned to the two guys. "You want anything?" she asked. They shook their heads. "Alrighty! Here I go!" in a minute, there was a blur of blue, and then the smells of dinner were in the air.

When they were eating dinner, Deidara decided that Hinata should be the meal manager. They all three of them laughed and for one moment, everything was normal.

-:-

Neji walked into the room Deidara was staying in. He noticed that there was a stuffed folder sticking out from under his bed. Asserting his authority of the man of the house, he took out the folder and looked through it. He stopped when he saw the picture of Hinata. _What's this for?_ He flipped to the end of the folder and saw in red ink the words: **Deidara's Missions**

_Missions? Missions for what?_ Neji found the picture of Hinata again in the folder. "Just what is this folder for?" He said aloud.

"What are you doing!?" Someone yelled at the door. Neji quickly turned around and saw a very angry Deidara. "What the hell are you doing in my room!?" He stomped over and grabbed the folder out of Neji's hands. "What does it mean, 'Deidara's Missions'?" He asked calmly. "It's nothing. Get out." Deidara said coldly, slapping the folder onto the bed. "Well, what's with all those files, and how come one of them's Hinata?" Neji asked. "None of your business." Deidara pushed Neji out of his room and slammed the door.

_Damn, I should be more careful._ Deidara scolded himself, hiding the folder in the drawer beside his bed. _Well, whatever. Right now I've gotta find my cloak so I can go get rid of some of these files tonight…_ Deidara left his room and locked the door. He found Hinata in the kitchen washing the dishes.

Coming up behind her, he slapped his arms on her shoulders. She gasped and dropped the plate she was holding in the sink. She turned around quickly and was face-to-face with Deidara, their faces inches apart. "D-D-D-Deidara-ni-san…" She sighed. "Hi-Na-Ta-chaaaan!" Deidara got a little closer to her face and grinned, making her blush. "Y-Yes?" she squeaked out, trying to back away. The sink was right behind her so all she succeeded in doing was getting closer to Deidara. He wrapped his arms around her.

"Can you tell me where that Akatsuki Cloak is?" He asked. "U-Um… Neji-nii-san t-told me n-n-not to tell anyone where the cloak is…" Hinata said, trying to slip out of his hug. He only made it tighter. "Really now?" He said almost angrily. "Ah… D-Deidara-nii-san… th-that h-hurts…" Hinata said quietly. Deidara let go of his hug and let Hinata walk away from him a little.

Hinata kept telling herself that he was the one who killed mom and dad. He was an evil person, and she shouldn't get too comfortable around him. But there was another part of her that said: No matter what, you're always gonna be my Nii-san! And that part of her was the little Hinata she was 10 years ago. When everything was as innocent as six and eight year olds were.

"I'll ask again tomorrow. And this time, have the right answer." Deidara growled, walking out of the kitchen. Hinata slid to the floor, her hands over her heart. _H-He is so scary…_ she thought. One of the plates in the sink shifted and made a clanking noise which made Hinata realize that she was in the middle of washing dishes. She quickly got back to that to get Deidara off her mind.

Neji walked by Deidara, and felt a cold aura when they crossed ways. He looked back at him; something was different. His shoulders were tense and he had an angry expression on his face. Neji shrugged and continued to the kitchen. Maybe he'd help Hinata with the dishes.

When he got there, Hinata was already finished and was resting on the table. Neji looked at the clock: 10:00pm. "Hinata, you should go to sleep now. There's still school tomorrow." Neji patted her shoulders twice before fixing himself a cup of water. Hinata was about to mention something about Deidara, but stopped. "…O-Okay…" she got up and headed for the door before Neji said something. "Oh, by the way, if you want, you can sleep in your room again. Just saying." Hinata smiled at him. "I will. Thanks."

In his room, Deidara was looking over those files Neji found that evening. It was about 11 at night, and he was deciding what he should do about his 'Kill Hinata' Mission he had._ I know, I'll shuffle all the files and when I come to Hinata on the list, she'll go down._ Deidara did so about times, all of them having Hinata at the top of the list or second or third.

… _Maybe I'll just put her on the bottom of the list and then…_ Deidara shuffled all the pictures again, and sighed when Hinata wasn't in first, second, or third place. _This… this could work._ He wanted to avoid killing Hinata as much as possible.

And he just wants everyone to know that any threats are totally on reflex, and he might not mean them when he says them.

Deidara stood up and walked out of his room. He checked to see if Neji and Hinata were fast asleep, then explored the house for his cloak. He'd search until 12:00, and if he finds it before then, he'd go ahead and start on the missions.

Slowly walking down the stairs to the basement, he came across a small closet just big enough for an Akatsuki cloak to fit in (if it weren't folded.) He opened it slowly, careful not to set any alarms that might be set, then revealed an empty closet. He sighed in disappointment and began to close the door, but noticed a small drawer under the empty closet space. He smirked. _Duh._ He opened the drawer and sure enough his cloak was there.

Quickly he took it out of the cramped space and looked it over. _Sheesh, it's all wrinkly. Oh well, better than nothing, I guess._ He slipped on the cloak and decided not to close it up. He walked up to the front door, only to be stopped by a light turning on behind him.

"…Where are you going?" A soft voice asked. Deidara slowly turned around. Hinata was standing before him, her arms crossed over her chest. "…Out?" He almost laughed at his own joke there. He sounded like a bratty teenager lying to his mother. Hinata gave him a worried look. Deidara sighed. "Don't even try to stop me; I have to do this." He said. Her expression melted into a sad one.

Deidara started pushing her to her own room. "You have school tomorrow. Well, today, it's already 1 in the morning." He said. "I'll do whatever it takes to stop you." Hinata said softly. Deidara grunted and picked her up bridal style, ignoring her silent screams of protest. He stormed into her room and threw her onto the bed and walked out. He closed the door in her face when she ran back to get him, wincing at the sharp thud he heard afterwards.

_Ugh… That's gonna bite me in the ass tomorrow…_ he thought, leaving the house as fast as he could; in case Hinata decided to go as far as chasing him around the town until dawn.

-:-

"Hinata! Over here!" Deidara (Age 8) called, running down the streets of Konoha. "W-Wait a sec!" Hinata (age 6) cried, struggling to keep up with the two boys in front of her. "Deidara, we should wait a second." Neji (age 8) said, holding out his arm for Hinata to hold on to. Hinata finally caught up and took his arm. "Finally! God, you're slow!" Deidara yelled playfully. "S-Sorry!"

"Mom wanted us to stop by the bakery to get the bread she wanted." Neji said. "Oh! That's by the bookstore, isn't it? I heard the new Shonen Jump comics are out! I gotta read them!" Deidara said excitedly. "But Mommy says that the money is for the bakery only!" Hinata said. "Hinata, It's alright, I asked mom for my allowance yesterday!" Deidara said proudly. "Fine, you go to the bookstore and Hinata and I will go to-"

Neji stopped when he felt Hinata tug at his shirt. "A-Actually, I w-wanna try out… manga…" She had a huge blush on her face, making her look extremely cute. "Yes, Hinata, join the dark side, we have manga." Deidara hissed evilly, tugging at her arm. "Oh god… fine, go ahead and poison her mind with all that otaku crap…" Neji said, letting Hinata cling to Deidara as he walked to the bakery.

Deidara took Hinata to the bookstore and immediately took her to the Manga section, immediately taking out the latest issue of "Naruto". He walked to Hinata, who was sitting in a chair nearby and showed her one page. "Hina-chan, look! This girl has the same name as you!" he said, showing her a picture of 'Hinata' (LOL) during the Chunin exams. "Wow!" Hinata took the book and stared at the pictures.

"Neji-nii-san!" Hinata laughed when she saw Neji's name in the book. "Can we keep this book?" She asked. Deidara thought for a moment. _…I can only afford one book… _ He looked into Hinata's hopeful and happy eyes and immediately said yes. "Alright, I'll go pay for this and you can wait for me outside." He said, taking the book. "Yay!" Hinata hugged him. "I love you, Deidara-nii-san!" she said. He smiled.

After Deidara paid for the book, he stared at his now empty wallet and sighed. Neji walked up to them and looked at the extremely happy Hinata. "What'd you drug her up with? And how much of it didn't you get?" He asked. "Hina-chan wanted me to buy a book, so I did… now my wallet's completely empty…" Deidara half-sobbed. "Well, let's go home now. I'm getting hungry." Neji said.

Hinata walked up to Neji and held up the book. "Neji-nii-san! Look! Your name!" she opened the book to the page where Neji's name was. Neji took the book and started reading it from the beginning, figuring out the past volume through extreme use of logic. Soon, he couldn't put the book down.

(He was reading the volume where in the Chunin exams, it was HINATA vs. NEJI)

He turned a page and yelled, "I'M SORRY, HINATA!!" Deidara just laughed.

The three walked the rest of the way home.

"Mommy! Mommy, look!" Hinata showed Mom the page of the book with both Neji and her own name. "Wow," She said, sounding like a mom when their child shows them something. "That's very nice, honey." She rubbed Hinata's head and smiled.

Mom went to the stove and but the food on the table. "Okay, kids, dinnertime!" she said, laughing as the three children ran to the table and fought over the seat next to Hinata.

After dinner, Mom said that her favorite show was going to be on. "Okay, kids, it's time for bed." She said. "But Moooommm!! It's only 8:00!" Deidara groaned. "Well, you guys wanna watch CSI with me then?" Mom offered, turning on the TV.

"_Oh god, what a gruesome way to die…" one officer said. "Ugh… disgusting…" another said. There was a sudden shot of the body._

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!" Deidara and Hinata screamed. Neji just sat there. "The baker did it." He said. "… that's… very nice, Neji…" Mom said.

A few minutes later, both Mom and Neji got tired of Hinata and Deidara's screaming. (Deidara's was the loudest). "Alright, you two, time for bed." Mom said, gently pushing them off the couch. "Ah!? _Two?_ What about Neji?" Deidara asked in protest. "Well… no matter how much I try, he won't go to bed. So I'll let him stay. Is that okay?" Mom asked. "_No-" _

Hinata tugged at his shirt. "D-Deidara-nii-san, I'm sleepy now…" she said, rubbing her eyes. "… Fine, alright, whatever… Night, mom." Deidara said, walking Hinata back to their room.

Mom walked back to Neji on the couch. "What'd I miss?" she asked excitedly. "They're interrogating Mr. Fletcher." Neji responded.

Eventually, Neji fell asleep without knowing the ending, and he was carried to where Deidara and Hinata were sleeping by Hiashi when he came home from work.

-:-

I do not own CSI. That was a made up episode, and while I'm at it, I don't own Naruto, or any other anime that God decided to put on this earth.

And I'll be switching between Childhood and Present Time often here… just saying…


	3. Sakura

-:-

Deidara (18) came back just before 6:00am, when everyone starts waking up. He walked up to his room after putting the cloak back where it was and took out his list. _Okay… Leader said these were my tasks for the next few weeks… sheesh, there are like 200 people on this list… was he planning on working me to death!?_ He thought. He didn't dare look up Hinata on his list.

Someone knocked on his door. "Deidara-nii-san…" A soft voice called. Deidara opened the door and let Hinata in. "Hinata, just so you know, that threat about the cloak yesterday was _totally_ accidental. I didn't mean it." He said, closing the door. Hinata stayed silent.

"So… what brings you here so early?" He asked. Hinata was about to say something, but stopped. "H-How many…?" she said softly. Deidara suddenly pinned her down to the bed, making her gasp. "Hinata, I don't want you getting involved with what I do. I think it would do you better if you not ask me those kinds of questions." He said. Better to get this clear at the beginning than later, when it would get annoying.

Deidara got off of her. "Don't you have school or something?" he asked. "W-Weekend… It's Saturday." Hinata said. "Then why are yo up so early?" Deidara asked, lying on the bed next to her. "… To see you. I wanted to ask you something." Hinata told him. "Don't tell me it's that thing you asked me earlier." He laughed. She shook her head. "It's different now." She said.

Hinata sat up and held up a book. "Do you remember what this book is?" She showed him an old book. Deidara sat up as well. "Wait, don't tell me…" He thought for a minute then snapped his fingers in realization. "That's Naruto! That Manga I liked as a kid!" he said, grinning.

Hinata placed the book down. "I continued reading the series in case you sill were interested in it… on that off chance that you would come back." She said. "And, thanks to you, I got into other series as well, like D.Gray Man, Bleach, and a bunch of others that I cannot begin to list. Right now I have over 150 books and about 25 series." She explained.

"And another one called Eyeshield 21." She added. "Oh, that football manga? But you don't even like football!" Deidara said. "That's why it surprised me too."

The two spent the rest of the morning talking about manga and anime, just for the hell of it.

-:-

Deidara decided to sleep the day away, due to his all-nighter last night. Hinata didn't mind, so she just let him do as he wished.

Neji was in the kitchen with an empty stomach. _Where is Hinata anyway?_ He asked himself, resting his head on his arm. Finally, Hinata walked down the stairs to cook breakfast –Or lunch, as of now. She saw Neji on the table and gasped. "Oh! Neji-nii-san! I'm so sorry, I forgot about breakfast! I'll get to that right away!" she hurried to the counter and put on the apron that was on it. "Is there anything you want for breakfast? The usual? The unusual?" she asked, getting out a frying pan and a spatula.

"Nooo…" Neji groaned, resting his head on the table. "O-Okay, bacon and eggs!" Hinata said.

A few minutes later, Breakfast was on the table. When Neji put the food in his mouth, he felt lots better. "Hey, do you know where Deidara is?" he asked. "He wanted to sleep in today, so let's not bother him." Hinata said.

The two ate in silence for a while until Neji spoke up again. "Hey, I've been thinking," he paused for a second. "Hm?" Hinata looked up at him. "Maybe I should get a job." He said. "Why? We're going by just fine." Hinata said. "Well, that money our parents left us won't last forever, will it?" Neji said. "That's true…" Hinata took a moment to think. "Maybe." She said.

Hinata stood up and put her plate in the sink. "I'm done, You can eat more if you want. I'm going to my room, if you need me." She said, leaving the room. "Do I wash the dishes today?" Neji asked. "If you can, will you?" she called. "Yeah, okay." Neji said.

-:-

Deidara took out one of the pictures of Hinata he had and stared at it. Now that he thought about it, that conversation about anime was the first one about him that didn't involve what he did in any way. He smiled. Maybe he could quit Akatsuki and live here from now on. He felt so comfortable here.

As he looked at the picture, he noticed that his heart was beating fast. He sat up and let the picture fall somewhere else on the bed. His hand moved to his chest, where his heart was. It had calmed down. Taking the picture again, his heart started beating fast again, and this time he blushed. _Well shit. I'm going crazy._

Deidara heard someone knock on his door. Walking up to open it, he saw Hinata reading a book. She let herself in and sat on the bed, still reading the book. He gave her a strange look, then closed the door again. "Uh… what's up?" He asked. Hinata looked up at him and smiled. "I just feel like reading in your room." She said. "…What makes you think you can?" Deidara stood in front of her.

"Well, on the inside, I know that you're a kind hearted man who can tolerate his younger sister reading in his room." Hinata laughed. Deidara smiled. He sat beside her on the bed and lied down. He stared at her from where he was until Hinata finished her book. She stretched and lied down beside him, forgetting that he was there until he wrapped an arm around her.

"…Deidara-nii-san?" She said, blushing. "Oh, sorry." Deidara said. There was an awkward silence and Deidara still hadn't let go. "… Do you plan on letting me go anytime soon?" Hinata asked. "Hmm… no." he answered. "Oh." The two stayed in that position for a while.

"Hinata, I've been waiting all this time for you to return this hug." Deidara said, breaking the silence. "Ah! R-R-Really!? I'm sorry!" Hinata wrapped her arms around his neck and accidentally pulled his face closer to hers. "…It's okay if I'm your brother, right? It doesn't count?" Deidara asked, leaning a little closer. "Wh… what do you mean?" Hinata whispered. "A kiss? A small one?" His lips were right in front of hers. "I don't know…"

Deidara stopped. _… what the FUCK am I doing?_ He asked himself. He took Hinata's arms and put them to her sides. "I am sorry." He said. Hinata got off the bed, turning red. "Y-Yeah… uh… I-I have t-to go… someplace… now." Hinata backed away to the door and left.

She really just sat outside his doorway until Neji came up and told her to go to bed.

-:-

The following Monday, things were the same as when Deidara first came back. Hinata had distanced herself from him again, and as usual, he and Neji were on alright terms. Maybe it was because he didn't know that he was a killer. Either way, it left him alone on weekdays.

"This is so boring!" he yelled. He decided to explore the house a little, starting with the basement. "Eeuw… It's so dusty in here…" He said, trying to find a light. He tripped on something and fell to the floor, swallowing a few clumps of dust. He coughed out the dust and turned around to the thing he tripped on.

The box said "Old Computer" with the word 'Crappy' crossed out. _A computer…_ Now that he thought about it, he always wanted an email address. Deidara opened the box and took out the computer. It was old, but in no way unusable. _I know, I'll set this up and make one!_ And then, this fanfiction suddenly became Deidara's adventure of making an Email address.

Deidara took everything out of the box, taking out the instructions… that were in French. "Aw man… French? They never covered that at Akatsuki Academy!" Nor did Akatsuki Academy bother to teach kids any other language. Deidara turned the instructions over and found the Spanish side. "Damn…" he cursed. He turned it upside down and growled in frustration. Where the hell were the English words!?

Finally, Deidara crumpled up the instructions pamphlet. He took a permanent marker and wrote "INSTRUCTIONS SUCK!!" and smiled at his handiwork.

So, after about 3 hours of figuring out everything, he finally got the computer up and running. "Finally!" he sighed. Clicking on the internet icon on the desktop, he was taken to a site called 'Yahoo'. He clicked on the 'Register' button and was taken to a page with a bunch of questions on it.

_Hmm… what should my address be…?_ Deidara typed in something random from the top of his head.

HinataMyLove (at Yahoo .com) "SHIT!" He deleted the address. "That was weird…" he muttered to himself, typing another address.

Iluvhina-chan crap." Deidara deleted the address. _…I'll get back to you._ He said, staring intently at the question. He looked at the others.

"What will your question be?" He read. "…Question for what?" he asked. Just for fun, he wrote this down. "Who is the person you like the most?" He typed in Hinata-chan. "I think I'm getting the hang of this." He said proudly.

A few minutes later, he was back to the address question. "I WILL defeat you!" he yelled. He sat still in thought until it finally came to him.

"ArtIsABang (at Yahoo. com) is perfect!" he said.

-:-

Everything was back to normal at school. Maybe something happened over the weekend that made everyone suddenly uninterested in the Akatsuki or the death of her parents. Even Hinata had gotten over it. No one really asked about anything anymore.

When the teacher came into the classroom, he had a very sad look on his face. It was then that the normalcy of the morning was drowned out by the murmurs of the class.

"Class, I have very bad news for all of you." The teacher said. The murmurs quieted down for a moment. The girls in the class got tense. "Sakura Haruno… was killed over the weekend. The police told us that it was the doing of an Akatsuki." There was a moment of silence for the news to actually sink in. Ino burst out crying, and all the other girls crowded around her.

Hinata saw Shikamaru get up and walk to Ino. He pushed his way through the wall of girls and held her hand.

"Finally, that bitch is dead." Sasuke walked up beside Hinata. His remark was loud enough for Ino to hear. "SHUT UP!! Sasuke! How could you be so heartless!?" she shrieked. "She _is_ right, you know." Hinata said calmly. Sasuke glanced down at her for a second. The teacher wasn't going to do anything, was he?

Sasuke smirked. "Well, come on. Guys, Sakura _was_ someone everyone hated, right?" he asked, looking around the room as murmurs of agreement were heard. "And in P.E., she was the most useless one on the field. Even Hinata did better than she did." He continued. "No offense, Hinata." He added. Hinata just glared at him. "Sasuke, that's going too far." Shikamaru said.

"All I'm saying is that things'll be better off without her. Am I right?" Sasuke asked. The teacher said that was enough and the girls were allowed to leave the room if they wished. A few seconds later, Hinata was the only girl in the classroom, and Shikamaru was the only boy out of it.

The room was silent once again. Nobody did anything, nobody wanted to. When it was time to switch classrooms, no one moved, and some of the people from the other classes came to comfort the girls outside. It was an awkward time at school.

When the day ended, the girls crowded around Hinata for comfort. She led them to the benches in the schoolyard. "Guys, it's okay… don't cry. Everything will be okay." Was all she could really say. "Hinata, Sasuke was a huge asshole today. He had no right to talk about Sakura-chan like that!" one of the girls yelled. "I hate Sasuke!" another said. Hinata just let them complain to her about Sasuke until Neji came to get her. Then they demanded for her phone number to continue this conversation.

"O-Okay, guys… Uh… bye, feel better…!" Neji pulled Hinata out of the schoolyard and behind the gate.

"Hinata, I heard what happened to Sakura." He said. "Y-Yeah…" Hinata said. "I think you've been through a lot. Way more than any normal girl should." Neji pulled her into a hug. "Well… I guess I'm not just any normal girl. I'm just going through a phase called 'Bad timing.'" Hinata laughed. Neji hugged her tighter. "That's what I love about you, Hinata." He said.

They stayed like that for a few minutes then let go of each other. "Let's go home now, hm?" Neji said, holding her hand. "Yeah."

**-:-**

"Hinata-chaan! Look! I got the computer running!" Deidara cheered when the two got home. He saw Hinata's sad look on her face and asked, "What's wrong?" he grabbed Hinata's shoulders, and her expression turned into anger. "I need to talk to you. Now." She said, grabbing his arm and pulling him to her room. Neji gave them a concerned look before going to his room.

Deidara looked around. He's seen Hinata's room before, but never been inside of it. "Nice room you got here." He said. Hinata shoved him to the wall. "Did you kill Sakura-chan?" She asked, tears running down her face. Deidara reached out to wipe them away, But Hinata backed away. "Did you? Last night, did you kill Sakura Haruno?" she asked again.

Deidara had a puzzled look on his face. "Who's Sakura?" he asked. Hinata tried punching him, but he quickly caught it in his hand. "Th… The teacher said… that an Akatsuki killed her… was it you?" she whispered, sliding down to the floor. Deidara knelt down and hugged her.

"…No. I didn't kill your friend. But it might've been someone I know." He said. Hinata started crying into his shoulder.

Neji heard sobbing on the way to his room, and followed the sound to Hinata's room. He opened the door and found Deidara hugging Hinata on the floor. He walked to them and wrapped an arm around her.

The phone rang. It was a surprise, because no one had ever called the house since their parents were killed. Neji got up and answered the phone. "Hinata, it's for you." He called. Hinata wiped her face and cleared her throat, then held the phone to her ear. "Hello?"

Suddenly, there were a burst of cries and complaints about a certain guy named Sasuke. In the end, they all asked, "Hinata!! What should we do!?" _Oh gosh… they were serious about this?_ She bet that all the girls in the class were on this line. "U-Um… C-Can we talk about this um… l-later? I have to get dinner started and…" Suddenly, Ino cut in. "Dinner? Hey, can we come over? Like a sleepover or something?" There were lots of talk about a sleepover all of a sudden.

Hinata looked at Neji and Deidara, who had been looking at her the whole time. "U-Um… all the girls wanted a… sl-sleepover." She told them. "Now? It's a school night." Neji said. Hinata nodded. _An excuse…_ she sighed.

"U-Uh, guys, it's a school night. You can't sleep over because… uh… N-Neji-nii-san said no." Hinata said. She quickly held the phone away from her ear as the girls all yelled,

"WHAT!?"

"OOH, NEJI!? WHY NOT!?"

"LET UP A BIT, WON'T YA!?"

"WE'LL KILL YOU!!"

That last one scared all of them. Neji slowly backed away until one of the girls yelled at him. "Don't you dare back away from this phone!" _How did she know!?_ The three thought.

"L-Listen, Ino. H-How about you all sleep over on Friday? That's a good time for me." Hinata suggested. There was silence on the phone, and then a for sure "Yes!"

-:-

On Wednesday, the girls had come over and taken Hinata to where Sakura was in the funeral home. She told Neji and Deidara that they could order take-out and that she'd probably be back late at night.

Which left Deidara and Neji to a talk at the table.

"So… Neji. We haven't really gotten a chance to talk since I got here. How are things?" Deidara asked, amazed that awkwardness had already settled. "Well… Uh… things are… okay. I mean, what with Mom and Dad's funeral coming up, school… Hinata…" Neji said. There was a small silence after Hinata was mentioned.

"… She's grown up a lot since I last saw her." Deidara said. "Yeah…" Neji agreed.

"Deidara… where did you go after you ran away?" Neji asked suddenly. "Huh? Where did I go?" Deidara repeated. What should he tell him?

After I ran away from home, I found an organization called Akatsuki. Just a group of High-rank criminals, a cozy place with their own jackets. You should Join sometime! No. Absolutely not.

"W-Well… uh…" Deidara paused, thinking over what he should say. "I… found out that… my parents… killed themselves after they dropped me off at the orphanage." Neji nodded. "Death happens a lot in our family, huh?" he commented. _And I don't help that problem at all._ Deidara thought.

Another silence fell upon the room. "Well, I'm hungry. How about you?" Neji asked, even though the question he asked earlier wasn't fully answered. "Sure."

**-:-**

Hinata (age 7) was celebrating her 7th birthday. She invited all her friends from school, and the party was in the back yard. Everyone was there except for Deidara, who was in his room secretly packing a bag with all his clothes. He jumped when he heard someone knocking on the door. Quickly shoving the bag under his bed, he opened the door to Mom.

"Honey, it's almost time to cut the cake. Are you coming?" she asked. "Cake!? You bet!" Deidara ran out to the back yard where Hinata was. When he saw Hinata he glomped her and gave her a big kiss on the cheek. "Happy Birthday!" he laughed. Everyone laughed with them.

As they sang Happy Birthday, Hinata thought about her wish. _A pony? No… Um… how about a new manga book? Nuh-uh… _Deidara squeezed her hand when they finished the song. _Oh, I know now._ Hinata thought happily, blowing out the candles. Everyone cheered loudly.

_I wish that Deidara-Nii-san would stay with us forever!_

A few hours later, after Hinata opened all her gifts, and after she said goodbye to all her friends as they left the party, the family was having a birthday dinner just for Hinata. Mom had cooked Hinata's favorite food, and Hiashi gave Hinata their gift for her. And, as an extra treat, they got to stay up for an extra hour on a school night. But Hinata said that she couldn't stay awake for a whole hour more, so she went to bed then. Deidara and Neji followed her as well. "Night!"

They all crawled into bed. "Hinata, what did you wish for?" Neji asked curiously. "Um… I wished for-" Deidara told her to be quiet. "If you tell anyone your wish, it won't come true!" he said. "… Well, what if she gave us hints or something?" Neji asked. Deidara thought for a second. "I don't know. I don't think anything's wrong with hints…" he said.

"Okay then, Hinata, give us a hint on what your wish was." Neji said. "O-Okay…" Hinata thought for a minute. "I know! It was something about… you guys." She laughed. "Us?" Neji pointed to him. "You wasted a wish on me and Neji?" Deidara asked jokingly. Hinata shook her head. "I thought it was worth it. I love you guys!" she blushed a little. "Aw, I love you too!" Deidara and Neji hugged her.

When everyone was asleep, Deidara climbed down from the bunk bed, and finished packing his bag. He took out a small box and put it on Hinata's side table with a note attached to it. He leaned down and kissed Hinata on the head. "Bye, I love you." He left the room, his bag over his shoulder.

Deidara looked up at the moon when he opened the door. He asked himself if he actually was going to do this, and he answered yes. He silently closed the door and left. He didn't know where to go at first, but decided on leaving town. _Here I go. (Real) Mom and Dad, here I come!_ He thought confidently.

It wasn't until Morning that he actually thought about how Hinata would feel.

--

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!" Hinata screamed when she woke up. Hiashi and Mom ran into her room. "Hinata! What happened?" Mom asked, holding her in her arms. "I-It's Deidara-Nii-San!" Hinata sobbed. Neji climbed to the top bunk on the bed and removed the covers. There was a ball on top of a pillow, which had a piece of paper that said, "Sorry".

"He's gone." Neji said, climbing down the small ladder. "Oh no…" Mom looked at Hiashi. He had a distraught look on his face. "I'm calling the police. We're going to find him." He walked over to Hinata. "I promise." He said, patting Hinata on the head. She just nodded, wiping away the tears in her eyes.

Hinata and Neji didn't go to school that day. Deidara's class was notified on his being missing, not him being a runaway. Hinata cried a lot, and Neji was just there, letting her soak his shirt with tears.

When she calmed down, she went back to their room and noticed the little box under the note. She picked it up and opened it. On the cap it said "Happy Birthday!" and in the box there were two hair clips.

_Hinata, I know you almost never wear these, but I just thought they looked good on you._

After reading that Hinata had tears in her eyes again.

-:-

After this I shall start working on Rise of the Shniz, Kisame's Corner, and probably Fairy Tale. That last one is an iffy.

EDIT: Looking back, the email crap didn't go through. And plus, half of the chapter was in BOLD!! WHAT THE CRAP!? Well, now that's all fixed. :D


	4. Sasori

Still is in need of a title... if you have an idea-even one not related to the story at all (within reason) please tell me! It might spark something and then... I dunno... Title pls :D

-:-

When Hinata came home, Neji and Deidara were sleeping messily on the couch, chopsticks and almost empty take-out boxes in their hands. She let out an annoyed sigh at the huge mess they made. "Did you guys have a party while I was gone? Sheesh!" she muttered to herself, picking up some trash and shoving it in a garbage bag. When all the trash on the floor was gone and the bag was tied up and put by the door, Hinata took some blankets and threw them over Neji and Deidara, taking one for herself on the other couch.

Only to wake up five minutes later to the incredibly loud alarm from the kitchen clock. Hinata tried to ignore it, but the alarm seemed to get louder and louder. Suddenly, she was picked up by strong arms and stood up on the floor. She opened one eye to see that it was Deidara who had interrupted her almost-nap. "Wakey, wakey, sleepy head!" he ruffled her hair and grinned. Hinata huffed and lied down on the couch.

"Hey, don't you have school right now?" Deidara asked. Hinata jumped off the couch. "Crap! What time is it?" she looked at the clock. 7:45am. School started in 15 minutes. "Oh no! Wake up Neji-nii-san! I'll go take a bath!" Hinata bolted up the stairs as Deidara looked at Neji.

Neji had fallen off the couch during their conversation. _What a wacky sleeper…_ Deidara thought, laughing. _Speaking of laughing…_ Deidara bent down beside Neji and said, "Hinata got raped while she was out with her friends." Immediately, Neji stood up, a worried look on his face. He immediately headed for Hinata's room, but Deidara grabbed his shirt. "Just kidding. But you have school in less than 10 minutes." He said.

Deidara saw Neji speed up the stairs in a hurry to get ready for school.

Hinata opened the door to the bathroom only to be crashed into by Neji. His face landed in something soft and squishy… when he looked up, he saw a bright red Hinata staring at him. He turned red too when he saw that all she was wearing was a damp towel. "N-Neji-nii-san…" _Oh gawd… I think my sister's hot…_ Neji thought, turning into a darker shade of red.

"Oi, too young for incest, my siblings." Deidara said coolly, walking by without looking at them. Neji quickly got off of Hinata, apologizing before running into the bathroom to take a quick shower. Hinata got up as well, walking to her room to change.

-:-

Neji was struggling to get that image of Hinata half-naked out of his mind. He tried banging his head on his desk. He tried Burying himself in books. He even tried getting a girlfriend- _SLAP!_ None of them worked.

Sighing and rubbing his cheek, he sat down at his desk when class was over. _And it's only lunch time… I've managed to rot my brain, give myself a concussion, and get a nice big slap in the face._ He told himself. _Maybe I should try avoiding Hinata for the rest of the school day._

This was proven next to impossible when he found himself staring at Hinata in the lunchroom. She didn't notice, but it bothered Neji that he was staring at her. Someone wearing an excessive amount of green on his uniform took a seat beside him.

"Hello there, Neji! Tell me, how was your day?" This guy (who wears an excessive amount of green)'s name is Rock Lee. Green isn't even _on_ the uniform, yet somehow, he managed to sneak green onto it. The teachers aren't complaining; if they needed him to do some heavy lifting with some storage boxes, they could find him easily.

"…I've had better…" Neji mumbled, the chopsticks in his hands sitting in his hands unused. "What are you staring at?" Lee leaned over and followed Neji's gaze to Hinata. "Why are you staring at her?" he asked. Neji tinted red and stuttered out, "I-I'm just ch-checking up on her. Sh-She seems to be fine, so… Yeah. Let's eat!" Before he got the time to say "Itadakimasu" the bell rang. "Oh, tough luck, Neji." Lee got up and laughed jokingly, taking his almost empty tray to the garbage as Neji listened to his empty stomach yell angrily at him.

-:-

Speaking of lunch, what does Deidara do for lunch when Hinata isn't around to cook?

Well, he's attempted to cook, and it's actually gone pretty good. The only setback is that he's the only one who thinks it's good, and he could only cook so much without the dish becoming crap.

But today, he didn't feel like his cooking today. Maybe he'd call for pizza or something. When he got to the phone, someone was knocking on the door.

Deidara stopped for a second. _Who would be coming to the house in the middle of the day?_ He glanced at the clock. 12:00 noon. _…exactly in the middle of the day._ Walking towards the door, he peeked out the window and saw a fluff of red hair. _… Who do I know has red hair?_ He asked himself, opening the door. When he did, someone whacked him on the head with a bag.

"Answer the door sooner, newb." An angry voice said. "Ow! Newb in what?" Deidara asked, rubbing the sore spot on his head. "Akatsuki, being a good host to your new guest, the usual." The person answered, shoving the bags he was carrying into Deidara's arms. "Take those to the room you probably didn't prepare for me." The person ordered, walking to the kitchen and helping himself to the fridge.

Dropping the bags in the living room, Deidara made his way to the guy in the kitchen. "what the hell are you doing here anyway?" he asked. The guy looked at him. "The leader told me to check up on you." He answered. "…For how long?" Deidara asked. "…I dunno. More than 'just a few days', I can tell you that much."

Sudden Omake Theatre: 'This man'

To stop myself from writing the words 'The guy' or 'the person' or just skipping to the guy's name, I'll fill you in. This man's name is Sasori, and he's basically an asshole. He strongly takes the term 'make yourself at home' to heart. But deep down he's a good guy. It's just that this 'good guy' is _way_ deep down.

Sudden Omake Theatre: 'This man': End

Sasori put the food back in the fridge. "So, who lives here?" he asked. "My brother and younger sister." Deidara answered. Sasori wrote something onto a small notepad and nodded. "Where are they now?" he asked. "School."

"What school?"

"I don't know."

Deidara saw Sasori shake his head in disappointment. "Don't even know your sibling's school…" he muttered, sticking the pencil behind his ear. "Okay, what's for lunch? You don't expect me to cook, do you?" Sasori asked. Deidara's look suddenly turned into a happy one. "Will you?" he asked. Just then, both their stomachs grumbled. Sasori sighed. "Fine. But you owe me." And immediately he got to cooking.

When he finished, Deidara immediately got to eating. "No thank you? Where are your manners?" Sasori asked, eating a little off his plate too. "Where are yours?" Deidara asked, gulping down another spoonful of food. "Ah, touché." Sasori said.

-:-

After school, Neji met Hinata at the gates as usual. Only this time, they didn't talk, hold hands, or even greet each other, which bothered Hinata a lot. But she didn't say anything; maybe there was a good reason to why Neji wasn't talking to her. Maybe there wasn't.

"Hey, Neji-nii-san?" Hinata started. Neji jolted, turning slightly to face her. "Y-Yeah?" he said. _Why are you getting so nervous? Calm down or I swear to God I'll make you hang out with Rock Lee for the rest of the year!_ His mind told him. Before Hinata started to speak again, Neji cleared his throat. "Sorry. You were saying?" he said.

"Um… I don't know, it just seems like… you've been ignoring me today. Are you?" Hinata asked. _Oh, is that how you feel? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I'll pay much more attention to you from now on._ Was along the lines of what he wanted to say. What he _did_ say was, "No, it's just that I've been… busy. Yeah, busy." There was an awkward silence "…I-Is that all you wanted to ask?" Neji asked.

Suddenly, Hinata burst out, "Is it because of this morning? I know it was a total accident, so you don't have to worry so much." Which caught Neji off guard. "Th-This morning?" he repeated. _This morning… just the thing I was trying to get off my mind…_ he felt something warm run down his lip.

"Ah! Neji-nii-san! You're nose is bleeding!" Hinata hurriedly took out her handkerchief and wiped his nose. "Eh?" Neji took the handkerchief and held it to his nose. Through all the blood, he could smell a little bit of Hinata. "Hinata." Neji said as they walked a little faster to the house. "Hm?" Hinata looked up at him. "…C-Can I keep this?"

Awkward silence…

"…Sure. You can keep it, I guess. I never really use it, so why not?" she laughed.

When they reached the house, Hinata heard the sink running. She let Neji go to his room and went to the kitchen, only to be greeted by someone with red hair.

Sasori turned around and stared at the girl in front of him. "Hello…?" he said, turning back to washing the dishes. Why he didn't make Deidara do this chore was beyond him.

Hinata stared intently at Sasori. It wasn't until he glanced at her that she asked, "Who are you?" Sasori suddenly had an anger mark on his head. "Ask that a little sooner, will you? A complete stranger is here washing _your_ dishes and it takes you 5 minutes just to ask 'Who are you'?" he ranted, turning off the sink and drying his hands.

Deidara walked into the kitchen and noticed Sasori and Hinata staring –glaring- at each other. "Ah, Hinata! I see you've met my friend Sasori!" he grinned. Hinata turned to Deidara. "Friend…?" she said cutely, if you asked him. Hinata looked back at Sasori and smiled. "Hello!"

Neji's nose had stopped bleeding and he went to the kitchen. He got into a fighting stance when he saw Sasori, but calmed down when he saw Hinata. "…Who's this oaf?" Sasori asked. "Me brother, Neji. We look alike, yes?" Deidara joked. "No." Sasori said.

"U-Um, I'm Hinata Hyuga. Nice to meet you." Hinata said. Sasori gave her a blank look. "I hate people who stutter." He said, walking past her and into his room. "Hey!" Deidara started, but Sasori ignored him and continued to the hallway.

Deidara and Neji looked back at Hinata, who still had her smile on her face. "Hina…ta?" Neji started, reaching out to touch her shoulder, but suddenly she got angry. "WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT!? I WAS JUST BEING NICE!!" She shouted, throwing her arms into the air. "AND I ONLY STUTTERED ONCE! _ONCE!!_ What's up with that!?" she stopped shouting for a second to look behind her. "Uh, sorry. I'll go to my room now."

Deidara and Neji looked at each other. "Wow… I've never seen Hinata mad before…" Deidara said. "Me neither…" Neji agreed. He smelled something good. "Hey… are there leftovers of that smell I smell?" he asked Deidara, sniffing the air. "Uh, yeah. In the fridge." Deidara said. It was then that Neji had lunch.

-:-

Friday night. The night when Hinata promised to have that sleepover. She actually thought it would go well, until Sasori came. It was Five 'o' clock, three hours before the girls were supposed to arrive. Right now, Hinata was cooking dinner.

"Hey, Hinata." Deidara said. Hinata glanced at him before getting back to cooking. Sasori was in the room as well. "Aren't you gonna ask us to stay away from your party? We might embarrass you, you know." Deidara asked jokingly. Hinata turned around. "I'd ask him to stay away." She said, pointing to Sasori. "It's rude to point." He said. "What would _you_ know about manners?" Hinata snapped back. "Ooh, Diss…" Deidara snickered.

Sasori got up and smiled. "I dare you to say that again, little brat." He said, his smile still in place. Hinata smiled back. "I hate you _so_ much." She said, adding a little laugh as a challenge. There was a sudden dark aura in the room, so Deidara slipped out of the room.

Neji was sitting in the living room. "Dude, one day they're gonna kill each other." Deidara said, sitting beside Neji on the couch. "Hm." Neji muttered, staring at the TV. "So, whatcha doing?" Deidara asked. "Enjoying the living room before it gets invaded by girls." Neji answered. "That's nice."

Deidara spotted something pink in Neji's pocket. "_Hello…_ What's this?" He swiftly pulled it out of Neji's pocket. "Hey! Give it back!" He yelled, reaching for it when Deidara pulled it away. "Ah, this is _Hinata's_ 'kerchief, eh?" Deidara said. Neji blushed a little, trying to grab the handkerchief. "What a scandal!" Deidara laughed.

Neji swung a punch in Deidara's direction and grabbed the 'kerchief when he dodged. "Ha!" Neji said in triumph. "Aw, now I want a hankie from Hinata-chan…" Deidara said, giggling. "Whatever." Neji said.

--

Sasori stopped glaring at Hinata long enough to pin her to the wall. "I hate you." He said. "Tell me something I don't know." Hinata told him. "I'm not finished. I hate you so much… yet there's this… thing about you that calms me down a bit. If you can tell me what it is, I'll be a little nicer to you." Sasori stared into her eyes.

Hinata thought for a second. "Well, people tell me that I'm a very friendly person, so… maybe you want to be friends!" she said, smiling. "Ksh. That's ridiculous. Why would I want to be friends with-"

"Maybe it's not _you_ who wants to be friends… but maybe your _heart._ Hm?" Hinata suggested. "That's stupid. My heart and Mind are the same." Sasori let go of Hinata, stepping back a few steps. "Are you sure?" Hinata asked, giving him a questioning look. Sasori tried to glare at her, but found that he couldn't.

"Whatever." Sasori walked to his room. "I'll be back to ruin your party too!" he called.

Hinata ignored that last part and walked to the living room. She sat on the couch and rested her head on Deidara's shoulder, who didn't seem to mind. "What was that all about?" he asked. "Ugh… that guy…" Hinata sighed, annoyed. "Sasori? Don't worry about him. That's how our 'friendship' started. If you could call what we are now friends." Deidara said.

"By the way, when did you meet Sasori?" Neji asked, sitting on the other side of the couch beside Hinata. He made her lean on his shoulder, making Deidara almost glare at him. "I met Sasori while I was _gone._" Deidara made Hinata's head rest on his shoulder again. "Oh, _really?_" Neji did the same. "Yeah. We've been friends for _years._" Again. "That's_ nice."_ And again.

Hinata was starting to feel dizzy. "I'm sorry… but are you guys… fighting over who gets my head on their shoulder or something? It's kinda tiring…" she asked, resting her head on the cushion behind her. "Yes." Deidara said. Neji glared at him. "Sorry, Hinata. Why don't you start getting ready for your sleepover now?" he helped her off the couch. "Okay."

It was then that Hinata remembered that she had never had a sleepover in her life. So that meant that she had never prepared for one either. "…How do I…?" She said, looking at Neji. He shrugged. Hinata looked at Deidara, and he shrugged as well.

"Food."

The three looked to the hallway, where Sasori was standing. "You need food, don't you?" he said. "I-I guess so…" Hinata said.

"Oh! And movies!" Deidara said, grinning. "Hm… A place to sleep?" Neji said.

"Okay! Thanks, you guys!" Hinata smiled.

-:-

The mothers of Shikamaru Nara, Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno were visiting Hinata's Mom, like they did every so often. They talked about Deidara for a bit, and changed the subject often. Right now they were talking about their children.

"Should I be worried? Or should I just let her tell me what the matter is when she's ready?" Mom asked. Neji (8 ½) and Hinata (7) were going to school now.

"Maybe she's just going through a phase. It'll pass." Sasuke's Mom said. Hinata's Mom nodded. "I guess you're right. I mean, little Itachi has grown up a lot since he was a little boy." She said. "Yes, from a confused and curious little boy to the smart, knowing young man." Everyone laughed a little at that.

Hiashi was in his study, remembering a time when Deidara sometimes came in when Mom's friends came over. Then the two would talk about how girls were nasty and confusing. A very childish conversation for someone like him. Any moment now he'd be barging in, a stupid grin on his face…

No, he was gone. He wasn't here right now. Sighing, Hiashi got up and paced around the room until it was 3:00. Then he walked out of his room and said that he was going to pick up the kids.

"Oh, dear? Could you take the van instead of the car? And can you please take everyone else's kid home? Here, I mean." Mom called. Hiashi hesitated for a minute, then leaned back into the doorway. "So let's see… One, two, three… Including Itachi?" he asked, looking at Sasuke's mom, who just nodded. "Aw man, 6 kids? I'm _so_ glad we bought a van…" Hiashi said jokingly, making everyone laugh. "Thanks, dear." Mom said. "Uh huh." Hiashi left the house and took everyone's kid home. To their house.

When Hiashi opened the door, The kids crowded in like there was some exciting show going on. Tired, Hiashi walked back to his bedroom and slept.

Hinata, Neji, Sasuke, Sakura, Ino, and Shikamaru (in that order) sat in a circle in Hinata's room. Itachi was sitting on the bed, taking position as the older brother and supervisor.

Sakura was the first to speak. "Hinata-chan, how are you feeling? You've been quiet the whooole day!" she asked, scooting Shikamaru over and sitting beside Hinata. "…Okay, I guess…" she said softly, an almost sad look on her face. Sakura hugged her. "Oooh, it's gonna be okay from now on, awright?" It was still that time when everybody said their 'r's like a 'w'.

Ino sat in the middle of the circle. "Let's play a game!" She said. "Like what?" Shikamaru asked. "Like… Make all the boys look like girls!" Hinata brightened up a bit while all the boys flinched back an inch. "Hinata, since it's your mom's make-up that we're gonna use, you get to pick who gets to be first." Sakura said.

Immediately, all the boys hid somewhere in the room, mostly aiming for the closet. Itachi didn't move, because everybody knew that if he were the one to be picked, it'd be-

"Itachi-nii-san!" Hinata pointed to Itachi, who gave her a dumb expression. "Whut?" he muttered, his eyes widening a bit. "Itachi-nii-san!" Hinata said again, giggling a bit. "You're kidding, right?" Just then, Ino walked in with the box of make-up. "Sasuke, hold him down." She said, dropping the box on the bed. Itachi tried to glare at him when he came out of the closet, but this time he didn't look intimidated; Itachi's only weapon was useless.

"NOOOOOOOO!!!" Itachi's scream echoed through the house, yet nobody heard it.

The result was horrible. Evidently, the girls had a long ways to go in the world of make-up. Hinata had given up in the middle because she didn't know how to apply some of the stuff. So she sat back and watched.

"Itachi-nii-san! You look pretty!" Hinata said happily. "Not yet, Hinata-chan! He needs the dress!" Ino said. Sasuke agreed. "What's your size?" Sakura asked. "Why should I tell you, little brats!?" Itachi almost-yelled.

Just for your enjoyment, I shall describe what Itachi looked like.

Of course, he had red lipstick smeared over his lips and some on his cheek (Hinata's fault) and blue eyeliner. Sakura decided that he needed a little color on his cheeks and stupidly scribbled blue – BLUE- marker on his cheeks. They combed his hair into 6 ponytails and braided each and every one of them, tying ribbons at the ends. They slapped on every piece of jewelry they could find in the box, which covered all of Itachi's fingers, half of his arm, made his neck look like one of those African women trying to make their necks longer, and poked his ears with every earring there. Lucky for him, there were only 2 pairs.

The dress was Hinata's mom's. It was the one with a frilly skirt and a fancy jacket that totally (did not) match the make-up. Though the embroidery was detailed and… well, fancy.

Itachi grumbled curses as the girls made their final touches to his horrendously ugly outfit. Sasuke was on the floor, laughing his head off along with the other guys. He didn't even know why he agreed to this… come to think of it, he didn't. He glanced at Hinata's happy face and half-smiled. _At least she's feeling a little bit better. _

"Kids, it's time to…" Sasuke's mom opened the door and stared confusingly at Itachi. He immediately gave a look that said, _SAVE ME!!_ But instead of doing so, she closed the door again.

"Okay, next?" Ino said, rolling up the lipstick. The guys in the room ran to their moms in the living room. "Feh. Wimps." Sakura said. Only Neji was left in the room. "H-Hey! W-Wait up-!" Ino grabbed him by the collar and made him sit in a chair. "You're gonna look _so_ beautiful, Neji!" she said, grinning mischievously.

At the end of the day, Itachi and Neji managed to get all the make-up off in the bathroom, their faces red from all the rubbing. When they both got out of the bathroom, Hinata was there waiting for them.

"Hinata-chan?" Itachi said, noticing her sitting beside the door. "Ah! Itachi-nii-san! Neji-nii-san!" Hinata stood up quickly. "What is it?" Neji asked. "U-Um… S-S-Sorry for… all that make-up… it must've been annoying for you and…" Itachi placed a hand on her head. "Hey, it's alright. I didn't mind… much." He said, laughing a little. "Anything to get your beautiful smile to your face." He added, making Hinata blush.

Neji huffed. "Okay, everyone's leaving now, Itachi! You should go too, or you'll get left behind!" he said, pulling Hinata away to their bedroom. "And plus, it's almost bedtime, so see ya!" Hinata waved once before the door closed. Itachi smiled. "Good night, my love!" he called through the door. He heard Neji yell in anger. Laughing, Itachi said good-bye to Mrs. Hyuga and left with Sasuke and his mom.

"N-Neji-nii-san, what was all that about?" Hinata asked, putting on her nightgown. "Um… I don't really know myself. But he was flirting with you!" Neji said accusingly, turning around. He blushed and turned away when he saw that Hinata was still changing. "Fluwting…?" Hinata asked, a cute and confused look on her face. "Flirting. It means that he wanted to go 'lovey-dovey, kissy-kissy with you! It's gross!" Neji said.

"Eew! Kissy-kissy!" Hinata said cutely, making a confused happy face. It was funny, because she still didn't get it. When she heard 'kissy-kissy,' that was her normal reaction. The two laughed.

"Kids, go to bed already!" Mom called to them. "Okay!" the two yelled, crawling into bed.

A few minutes later, the whole house was dark and asleep. Hinata was still awake, though, and the creaking and moaning of the wind was scaring her. She got out of her bed and quickly crawled into Neji's bed. He was a light sleeper, so when the weight shifted on his bed, he turned around and saw Hinata under his blanket.

"Hinata…?" he said sleepily. "N-Neji-nii-san, I'm scared…" Hinata whispered, hiding under the blanket. "Can't you go and bother…" Neji trailed off when he remembered that the person he was talking about wasn't there. "Uh… Scared of what?" he asked.

Hinata looked around the room, as if seeing if the coast was clear. It was, as far as she knew, so she said quietly, "I hear scary noises…" The two were silent for a silent, listening. The wind blew again, and Hinata squeaked and hid under the blanket.

Neji had to admit, the sound was scary. But not scary enough to scare him. "Hinata, it's okay. You can sleep here tonight… I guess." He said, wrapping an arm around her. "Thanks, Neji-nii-san."

Neji had never slept that good before that night.

-:-

… Are there names for everyone's moms? I know Sasuke's mom's name is Mikoto Uchiha but… what about everyone else's? Oh well.

Oh, I forgot to say this in the last chapter but…

Dear god, I killed Sakura. :D (is a Sakura-hater) But she's better in Shippuuden, so… yeah.

Ah, I remember again!

YAY SASORI!! God, I made him an asshole…


	5. Sleepover

…Yup. A Title would be mighty fine right now…

-:-

Hinata was putting the finishing touches on everything in the living room for her sleepover. It was about five minutes before the girls were supposed to be here. Neji and Deidara were spying on her from the hallway, Sasori there out of curiosity. Brother's worry, I guess.

There was a loud and urgent knocking on the door. Hinata quickly answered it and the girls she invited for the sleepover crowded in. When she closed the door, immediately the living room burst into a world of complaints about school and the people who make it so.

"Sasuke is such a jerk!"

"I hate him so much!"

"He used to be a good guy, you know? Then his brother joined the stupid Akatsuki and- ARGH! He makes me so upset!"

"Stupid?" Deidara whispered angrily. "What?" Neji asked. "Shut up."

Hinata sat with them on the floor on top of all the pillows and blankets. "Gosh, you guys are loud…" she said. The room fell into small murmurs about boyfriends and romance and how Hinata lacked both.

"You know, we should find you a boyfriend, Hinata-chan." Ino said. Hinata turned red. "Eh? N-No way, I don't need one now!" she said.

_Yes, Hinata! Refuse the offer of a boyfriend!_ Neji and Deidara thought, a somewhat 'Rock Lee' imitation of determination in their eyes. Sasori stared blankly at them.

The room was silent; a bad thing at sleepovers like this. Hinata had to do something – anything to release the tension. Then she remembered this one thing she saw on TV once… And soon, she zoned out, thinking about that TV show she saw the other day.

Sasori slapped his forehead. _Stupid girl…_ he thought. It was frustrating him, the way she spent her time like that. Out of anger, he decided to make his appearance known to everyone there. _Get a glass of water._ He told himself, stepping over Neji and Deidara in their stealth positions on the floor. When they saw Sasori step out into the open, they started silently freaking out, but stayed away, in case something happened.

Hinata snapped out of her thoughts just in time for the girls to notice Sasori walking into the kitchen, which was right beside the living room they were in. He turned slightly and smiled, making everyone's heart melt. Except for Hinata's. "Hello, ladies, just getting a glass of water, don't mind me." He said in that soothing voice of his. He glanced at Hinata, his look saying, _Thank me later. I've given you girls something to talk about._

Hinata responded with a look that said, _Oh, Joy. A talk about the devil himself!_ She saw Sasori smirk. _Guilty as charged._ When he disappeared into the kitchen, the girls let out a loud squeal.

"Oh my god, Hinata-chan! He was so hot! Who was he?" (Let's say…) Tenten asked. "I know! Ooh, what is he doing in _your_ house, huh? –wink, wink-" Ino asked, nudging her in the arm. "That was the devil himself." Hinata said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Aw, don't be like that! We were just playing." Ino said, laughing.

Sasori came out of the kitchen and the room fell silent. Of course, he knew that they were staring at him, so he turned slightly and smiled. "Do you need something?" he asked. Hinata was about to say No, but the girls told him to stay and hang out. "Hm? Me? I couldn't possibly…" he faked an honest and kind look of refusal, but eventually gave in to nonexistent pleas for him to stay. "Alright."

_THAT PLAYER!!_ Deidara and Neji yelled in their minds.

Sasori took a seat beside Hinata, ignoring all the death glares she was giving him. "So, what were you ladies talking about over here, huh?" he asked, purposely placing his hand over Hinata's. She tried to pull it away, but his fingers interlaced with hers. He smiled at her disgusted look.

"S-S-So, how do you know Hinata-chan?" Ino asked nervously. "Hinata-chan? Oh, she's…" Sasori gave Hinata a mischievous look. Hinata's eyes widened a bit. _You wouldn't…_ she said through her eyes. Sasori squeezed her hand once.

"Hinata-chan is my girl-" Hinata clamped her other hand over his mouth and yelled, "FRIEND!! I'm his friend! Y-Yeah, see? Friends… Hold hands! YAAAH!!" She held up the hand Sasori was holding. "…That's cool." Ino said awkwardly.

A few minutes of silence went by, and then Ino remembered the reason they were getting together. "Sasuke Uchiha is an asshole." She said. Everyone started yelling out complaints about how mean he was a few days ago. Some even revealed that they even had a crush on him that disappeared because of the way he acted.

Five minutes have passed, and Sasori already decided that he not only hated Hinata, he hated all girls in general. Soon, he fell asleep leaning his head on Hinata's shoulder, listening to the complaints of a certain Uchiha.

It wasn't until everyone was going to sleep that Hinata noticed that Sasori had been sleeping on her shoulder. She blushed a little. He looked so peaceful when he slept, yet when he was awake he was a mean scumbag. She gently pushed him off of her and let him fall to the pile of pillows beside him. "You can sleep right beside me, if you want."

Hinata jolted when she saw Sasori's eyes open. "Hell no." he murmured, trying to get up. But the pillows were so… soft, and he couldn't get up. He noticed that half the reason was because of its smell. It smelled familiar. "…Who's pillows are these?" he asked quietly, noticing that the room was sleeping. "Um… Mine." Hinata answered. _…Figures._ Sasori thought. "Are they a problem? Do you want me to get the pillows in your room?" She asked. "Mm… no. These are… good." Sasori drifted back to sleep, and Hinata lied down beside him.

"…Night." She whispered. She smiled when she heard a soft reply. "…night."

Neji and Deidara were sleeping in the hallway. They were asleep for a while now. Maybe they should've joined the ladies at the sleepover. No, no… Neji would've been beaten up because he didn't allow the sleepover to be sooner.

-:-

The next day, Sasori felt relieved that all the girls that were there last night had left. Never in his life had he ever felt a larger need to kill. At least he'll let out all that anger on Hinata when he tastes her (probably) horrible tasting breakfast. That's something to look forward to, I bet.

Only there was one tiny flaw in his small plot. The food and service was flawless. Sasori was disgusted at the fact that the food wasn't disgusting. _Damn, where'd this girl learn how to cook?_ He thought, more anger building up that breaking down.

"Sasori, does it taste good?" Hinata asked. "IT TASTES GREAT!" Sasori yelled angrily. "Why do you sound so angry?" Hinata asked, a little annoyed. "_Because!_ I expected it to taste like SHIT! And what do you do? You make it taste like it were meant for a god! I hate you!" Sasori yelled, equally confused about what he just said as anybody else. "Well, I'm _sorry_ I tried my best so you wouldn't throw up! Sheesh, you're such an asshole!" Hinata shrieked. No one commented on how that was one of the first times they've heard Hinata curse, because she was right.

"Oh, so I'm an asshole, huh!?" Sasori yelled. "Yes, you are! I bet you were thinking of taking all that anger you were building up to bring down breakfast, huh!?" Hinata yelled back. "So what if I was? It's not like you're going to do anything about it!" Deidara and Neji decided to leave the two alone. "Hinata, were' done. I'll go put these in the sink now." Deidara whispered, so as to not interrupt her argument.

"Well if you love my cooking, then why are you so pissed!?" Hinata shouted. "I'm _pissed_ because I'm not supposed to love your cooking!" Sasori growled. "You're not making sense!"

"And You're not taking a shower. Why don't you go do that now?" Neji put a hand on Hinata's shoulder. She glared at Sasori, who glared back. She stood up and walked out of the room.

Neji sighed in relief. "Why do you hate her so much?" he asked Sasori. "I hate her because I might like her." Sasori quickly walked out of the room and into his. "Might like her…?" Neji repeated.

_Ugh! That guy is so… is so…!_ Hinata furiously scratched at her head in the shower. Suddenly she stopped. Like she just realized something, she turned bright red. _Oh god… I'm the only girl in this house…_ she stepped out of the shower to lock the door. _I know Neji-nii-san wouldn't do anything to hurt me, but… I'm not so sure about Deidara-nii-san, or that bastard Sasori…_

She shook her head. _No. Deidara-nii-san wouldn't do anything either. Sasori is my only threat. I have to think up a battle plan. If he's Deidara-nii-san's friend, then he's an Akatsuki. Yeah…_

She shook her head again. _No, I'm just thinking too much. Sasori, asshole he may be, wouldn't do anything either. He's just here, visiting, planning… plotting… God I hate him._

Someone knocked on the door, making her jump. "Hinata! You've been in there for a long time! Are you okay?" It was Deidara. _Maybe it's time that I got out of the shower…_ without answering, Hinata wrapped herself in a small towel.

_She's not answering… Should I check up on her?_ Deidara noticed that the door was locked. _OH SHIT! WHAT IF SHE DROWNED HERSELF AND LOCKED THE DOOR SO NO ONE WOULD KNOW!?_ Deidara rammed the door open, tripping and falling into the bathroom. He heard a small squeak. Looking up, he saw Hinata wrapped in a small towel, soaking wet.

Both of them blushed. "…Deidara-nii-san…" Hinata whispered. "Are you… okay?" Deidara asked slowly. He jumped up when he saw Hinata about to scream. He clamped a hand over her mouth and told her to be quiet. "Wai-Wai-Wait! Uh… Don't… scream… heh…" he said, stepping back. He accidentally kicked the door shut. _Shit._ Deidara turned around and tried to open it, but it was jammed. "The stupid door is jammed!" he growled, trying harder to get it open.

Hinata stepped back into the shower, closing the curtain. Deidara looked over at her, confused. "What are you doing?" he asked. "… I just realized that I'm the only girl in this whole house." Hinata answered, peeking her head out from behind the curtain. "And now, I'm stuck in the bathroom with you, a guy, with no clothes and I'm soaking wet."

_This… is true._ Deidara mentally agreed. "What are you getting at?" he asked. "Well… Call me crazy, but… I'm just suddenly afraid of gang rape." Hinata said quietly. "…Why would we do that to you?" Deidara asked. _You're only the sexiest, cutest, nicest piece of woman I've ever seen. _"That's why I told you to call me crazy." Hinata laughed a bit.

Deidara slowly walked to the shower. He was about to open the curtains but he heard Hinata say, "But I know you wouldn't do that, Akatsuki or not." Deidara paused to think. _What am I trying to do, anyway?_ Gripping the curtain, he slowly moved it aside. Hinata looked up at him, still wrapped up in that towel. "Right?" she said, smiling.

Deidara stared at her up and down. She was too innocent for what he wanted right now. "…Yeah." He helped her get up and kicked the door open. "Wow. That worked." Deidara said, laughing a little. "Thanks, Deidara-nii-san!" Hinata hurriedly walked to her room and closed the door.

Sighing, Deidara leaned on the doorway of the bathroom. _Hinata… I think I love you._

-:-

Neji and Hinata were walking to school holding hands. It wasn't uncommon, but what was unusual was that Deidara and Sasori were following them, wearing the school uniform. Did something happen while he was gone shopping for a few hours?

Neji squeezed Hinata's hand, leaning down to whisper in her ear. "Hey, Hinata. Do you know why Deidara and Sasori-san are wearing our school uniforms?" he asked. Hinata smiled at him. "They asked me where they would go if they wanted to go to school, and I told them that the new semester started today. I think they took the entrance exam to get here."

The two looked back at Deidara and Sasori, who just smiled (Deidara) and waved (Sasori). Hinata smiled back and Neji waved. "Yeah but… why?" He whispered to her. "…Maybe they got bored at home. Well, the good thing is, for some reason, we don't have to pay for tuition." Hinata said, laughing a little.

It wasn't until she found that Sasori was following her that Hinata got disturbed by him coming to school. _Doesn't he have his own class to get to?_ She thought. She pretended not to notice him, slipping into the classroom and slamming the door shut. She felt relieved that Sasori didn't come in.

But a few seconds later, a certain red-haired guy she knew opened the door. "Excuse me, but is this the 11th grade?" he asked. "Yeah, are you new?" Shikamaru asked him. "Yup." Sasori smiled. "Thanks."

Sasori noticed an empty spot beside Hinata's desk, and quickly took that seat. "It's very rude to slam doors in people's faces, you know that?" he said, almost glaring at her. "Well, could you blame me? And plus, aren't you older than me? You should be in a different class." Hinata said. "What if I'm your age, hm? I never told you how old I was, now did I?" Sasori said.

"You're 16?" Hinata asked. "And now I know how old _you_ are." Sasori took out a small notepad and wrote down next to Hinata's name 'Age 16'. "And yes. I'm 16. I'm younger than Deidara but act _so_ much older than he does." Hinata thought that she would laugh. "But, of course, I'm about a month or two older than you." Sasori added. "I was born in August."

"Really? I was born on December 27th." Hinata cursed when Sasori wrote another thing in his notepad.

Everything went silent when the teacher announced that there was a new student. "Sasori-san, why don't you come up and introduce yourself?" the teacher said. Sasori nodded and stood up.

"My name is Sasori. I don't have a last name, and I don't really want one either. I don't like a lot of things, and I like only a few things. I'm not interested in any of you," All the girls in the class groaned in disappointment. "…And I'm only interested in Hinata Hyuga right here."

Hinata slammed her head on her desk in embarrassment. _Why, god, why?_

"Very… interesting. Thank you… Sasori-san." The teacher said awkwardly. Hinata felt Shikamaru nudge her arm and laugh. "It's not funny." She whispered harshly to him. "Oh, no? The new kid has the hots for ya. That's funny, if you ask me." He said.

When Sasori sat down, he smiled at Hinata, who shrunk down in her seat. "Why?" She asked him. "Because I like you." He responded, his smile growing a bit wider.

Things would only go downhill from there.

-:-

Deidara wasn't any better in Neji's class. He constantly disrupted the lesson with loud yawns and always hit the teacher with paper airplanes. He sat in the back row, yet he always got him straight in the head. Whenever Neji tried to stop him, the teacher by that time turned around, so all Neji could do was glare at Deidara.

And to make things worse, Deidara introduced himself in the following way:

"**-LOUD BURP-"**

_Deidara!! Shut up!!_ Neji mentally shouted at him.

At lunch, the two met Hinata and Sasori at the table they usually sat. "Hinata, how was Sasori in your class?" Neji asked, leaning his head on his arm. "He said he was interested in no one else but me." Hinata murmured. "Deidara burped. _Burped _as an introduction." Neji said.

"Hinata-chan, pass the salt please." Sasori said, leaning on her cutely. "Here." Hinata accidentally handed him the pepper shaker, and Sasori leaned on her again. "Wrong one, honey." He said. "Get offa me." Hinata said. "That's not the salt either." Sasori noticed that a few people were watching and kissed Hinata's cheek.

"Hey, knock that off!" Neji said strictly. Sasori frowned as he got off of Hinata, who was beet red. "Thanks, Hinata." He said.

Suddenly, Ino took a seat beside Sasori. "Heyllo there, Sasori. Remember me from the party Friday?" she said. "Oh, you're the one who kept calling Sasuke an asshole, weren't you?" Sasori said. "Yup! And I just wanted to ask you something."

Ino leaned closer and whispered in his ear, "Are you and Hinata-chan going out?" Sasori gave her a confused look, then nodded. "You are!?" Ino asked, surprised. Sasori nodded again. "Cool, I'll go spread the word!" Ino got up, but Sasori stopped her. "Wait a sec, I forgot to tell you one thing." He looked behind him, and was glad to see that Hinata, Deidara, and Neji were having a conversation of their own. "…Hinata's my girlfriend and… we also _did it_ once."

_Take that._ Sasori aimed that thought at Hinata. "Go tell everyone that, too." He said, grinning. "Ah… Okay! Bye-bye!"

_Hm… let's see how school is tomorrow…_ Sasori thought evilly.

-:- Sasori childhood special -:-

Sasori (age 7) walked into the kitchen to get a glass of water. It was pretty early in the morning, and he was supposed to wake his parents up when he did, just like he always did. Though today, he felt that things should be different. Just for today. It was a Saturday, so what would the harm be if his parents woke up late. As far as he knew, they didn't have anything important to do.

After getting the glass of water, he decided to go back to his room to play video games. He only played for about an hour; the game got boring pretty easily. His stomach gurgled, so he went to the kitchen for a snack. _Hm… It's already almost lunchtime. Are Mom and Dad still asleep?_ Probably, he thought. They work late every night just to pay the bills. They deserve a day of sleep.

It was now almost 4 in the afternoon. Sasori was starting to get worried. They should've been up by now. He went to their room to check up on them, and was surprised at what he saw.

Mom and Dad were hanging from the ceiling.

"Mommy? Daddy?" Sasori walked up to them and tugged at their clothes. No response. He spotted a small box on the bed. He walked over to it and noticed that there was a note on it.

_Sasori_

_Call Grandma Chiyo. She'll know what to do. We love you, but they're out to get us. We had to do something to get you somewhere safe, and this was the only thing that we could think of. If this didn't work, please forgive us._

_Love you always, Mom and Dad_

Sasori blankly stared at the note. It was sloppy, so they must've been in a hurry to write this. What happened last night, if this did happen then? Now he was confused. Weren't they coming back, Mom and Dad? Why were they up there on the ceiling?

_Call Grandma Chiyo…_ Sasori went to the phone in his parent's room and dialed the number Mom wrote on the note.

"Hello?" The person answered.

"Grandma Chiyo?" Sasori said quietly.

"Sasori, dear! My, tell me how you've been!" Chiyo said brightly.

"Grandma Chiyo… Mommy's note told me to call you. Do you know why?" Sasori asked. The other line was silent for a while. "Deary, where is your mother?" Chiyo asked. "They're hanging from the ceiling. Maybe if you came over, you could convince them to come down." Sasori said innocently. There was another silence, and it was beginning to get him a little frightened.

"Sasori, dear. Was there a box on your mother and father's bed?" Chiyo asked. "Uh huh." Sasori answered. "Alright, here's what I'd like you to do: Take that box and go to the living room. And be sure to close the door to your parent's room, alright? Then wait for me to get there." Sasori nodded, making a soft noise telling her that he understood.

"And don't be scared, alright? Grandma Chiyo will be there soon." Chiyo hung up the phone, and so did Sasori.

He looked up to where his parents were hanging from the ceiling. A lonely feeling welled up inside of him, soon to be taken over from fear. He tried to get the box from the other side of the bed, but he couldn't reach. He didn't want to go near his parents on the ceiling for some reason. It was a scary feeling, and he knew he had to stand up to it.

Sasori ran for the box, grabbing it and without a second glance he ran out of the room. The door slammed, sending echoes throughout the house. He threw himself onto the couch, clutching the box close to his chest. He hated himself for feeling so scared. For a moment, his heavy breathing subsided, and it was at that time that Sasori realized how quiet it was around the house. Tears started rolling down his face. _Are you almost here, Grandma Chiyo?_

As if answering his question, the door opened. "Grandma Chiyo?" He ran to the door, expecting a warm hug, but instead, a hand grabbed him by the head. "Ow! Hey, lemme go!" Sasori tried punching whoever grabbed him in such a way, but failed. Apparently this person was taller and older than he was.

"A healthy boy, huh?" the man said. There was another man behind him, who agreed with him. "He'd be a fine student at Akatsuki Academy." The two laughed, and Sasori blacked out.

When he woke up, there was a mouth right above his face. He screamed and backed away from it, hearing childish laughter from beside him.

"Hey. You're finally awake!" a voice said. "Wh-Who are you?" Sasori asked. "Huh? Oh, I'm Deidara Hy- I mean, Deidara. Just call me Deidara." Deidara said. "Where am I?" Sasori calmed down a bit. "You're at Akatsuki Academy. But gosh, they took you pretty hard. When you got here, you were knocked out! They grabbed you by the head, huh?"

Sasori shivered at the memory of a few hours ago. Or days. How long was he out? "When did I get here?" He asked, rubbing his head. "Oh, ah… I think you came here last night." Deidara answered.

"Oh, by the way, we're roomies now! Call me 'Best friend' from now on!" Deidara said, holding up a fist. But this one wasn't to hit, it was something similar to a handshake. Sasori held up his fist as well, bracing himself for what might happen. But instead, he felt a light tap on his fist, and a small laugh.

"Welcome to Akatsuki Academy, buddy." Deidara said, grinning.

-:-

Okay, let's see… NejiHinaDeiSaso? Or SasoHinaDeiNeji? NejiHinaSasoDei? Uh… Either way, this has turned into a love square.

And… yeah, a title might be awesome.


	6. Horrible Rumors

Guys! Thanks for your ideas! They've been a big help, really!

-:-

_Dear Diary, _

_It's been almost two weeks since Mom and Dad's funeral… it's weird, because I thought I'd be an emotional wreck by now, but my brothers have been really good to me. __**That Guy**__ is still here. How long does he plan on staying, anyways? The sooner the better. What does he hate about me anyways? What did I ever do to him? Sheesh, talk about confusing. _

_Well, I'm getting sleepy, so… Zzzz… -drool stain-_

Sasori closed Hinata's diary and put it back to where he got it... from under her face. _She calls me confusing?_ He sighed. He watched her sleep for a few minutes. Then he remembered that they had a report due tomorrow, so he got up and left.

When he sat on his bed, he realized that by reading Hinata's diary, he gave himself more reason to start that rumor at school. He hated her so much yet… Sasori decided to work on that report during study hall tomorrow. Skip right to sleep.

But he couldn't sleep, because whenever he closed his eyes… Hinata would show up.

-:-

In the morning, Hinata was the first to wake up. She felt something stick to her face, realizing that she drooled all over her diary. "Not again…" she murmured, peeling the journal off her face and hiding it in her pillow case. "It'll dry…" She told herself, walking to the bathroom. She took a bath and changed into her uniform, then went to the kitchen to cook breakfast.

Neji was second to wake up. "Hey, maybe if we don't wake Deidara up, he won't come to school-" his small hope was shattered when Hinata called everyone to wake up. Deidara ran over Neji on his way to breakfast. "Sorry, dude! Stomach calls!" he yelled over his shoulder.

Deidara jumped to hug Hinata. "MORNING!" He said, almost falling to the floor. "Hurry up and eat, you're gonna be late." Hinata said, regaining her balance. "Okee :D" Deidara sat at the table beside Sasori, who was still sleepy from last night.

"Oi, what's up with you?" Deidara asked, poking Sasori's cheek. "I couldn't sleep last night…" Sasori murmured, rubbing his eyes. "Guys, hurry and eat so you won't be late." Hinata reminded them, taking off her apron.

"Hinata, did you eat already?" Neji asked. "Uh… A little. But I'm not hungry. Go ahead. I'll go get ready for school." Hinata went back up to her room, a small growl from her stomach being heard.

Sasori poked at his food. "You guys don't have enough food for me to be here, so she sacrificed her breakfast for mine." He said. "What makes you think that?" Deidara asked, taking a huge spoonful of food and shoving it down his throat. "What I don't get is why." Sasori said.

Neji paused for a second. "…She's always been like that. Giving the stuff she wants to others." He said, finishing his food and putting it in the sink. "Come on, school's in an hour, and it's a 15 minute walk." He said, going to his room to change. Deidara did the same. "Eat, man, I heard you have a big test today."

_We __have a test today. She's gotta eat up too._ Sasori took his plate up to Hinata's room. He kicked the door open, an extra pair of silverware in his mouth. "S-Sasori?" Hinata started. "Argh, there you go, stuttering again. You know I hate that!" Sasori put the plate of food on Hinata's desk and rolled the chair she was sitting in beside the table. He sat beside the desk on the bed. "You're not going to school until that plate is empty." Sasori said firmly.

"W-What are you talking about? I-I already ate b-breakfast…" Hinata mentally cursed herself for stuttering. "**Eat.**" Sasori said. As if the world was trying to go against her, Hinata's stomach growled. "S-See? My stomach's already growling for l-lunch…!" she almost slapped herself for such a lame excuse.

"Don't tell me I have to feed you." Sasori sat closer to her and got a spoonful of food. "Y-You don't have to-!" Food was shoved into Hinata's mouth, catching her off guard. For a second, she was confused on what to do next. "Chew." Sasori said. Hinata did as she was told. "Swallow." Hinata swallowed the food with a big gulp. "Now more." Sasori already had another spoonful of food.

"Open, Chew, Swallow, and again." After about two or three more spoonfuls, Hinata said that she was full. Sasori ate the rest of what was on the plate. "That's a good girl." He said, his cheeks turning a bit red. "U-Um… th-thank you… Sasori." Hinata said, blushing. "If you're really thankful, you'd do something about that stupid stuttering problem of yours." Sasori took the plate and left the room.

Hinata looked at the clock. Exactly fifteen minutes before school started. They should get going, but Sasori still hasn't changed yet. He took all his time to feed her. _I'm sorry, Sasori._ She mentally apologized to him.

"Hinata! We're going now!" Neji called to her. Hinata grabbed her bag and jacket, but stopped when she heard someone brushing his teeth in the bathroom. "U-Um… N-Neji-nii-san! I'll wait here for Sasori, okay?" She called back. "Okay, hurry up though!" Hinata heard the door close.

"…I told you to get rid of that stuttering problem." Hinata turned around and saw Sasori, his toothbrush hanging from his mouth. But that wasn't the only thing that caught her eye; Sasori wasn't wearing a shirt. Hinata turned red. "Ah… Uh… Um…"

Sasori gave her a confused look then looked at himself. He smirked. "You like?" he asked, enjoying her turning darker red. "N-No! Um… O-Of course not!" Sasori walked back into the bathroom to finish brushing his teeth. "Why'd you stay? You could've gone with Neji and Deidara, you know." He said. "W-Well…"

Hinata looked down to the floor and played with her fingers, a habit she thought died a long time ago. "Well…?" Sasori walked to his room, changing with the door open in case Hinata decided to respond. He paused when he heard a small whisper from the hallway.

"…I-I just… thought that it would be… uh- good if… we went to school together… that's all…" Hinata said timidly. She didn't like herself when she was timid, but she couldn't help it. Sasori liked it when she was timid; she looked cute. It was like she needed a hug. Speaking of which…

Sasori put on his undershirt and walked over to Hinata. He pulled her into a hug. He looked up to the clock and they had five minutes to walk the fifteen minute distance between here and school.

"Oh, we gotta go. You go ahead, I'll go put on my shirt." Sasori patted her shoulders once and headed for his room. Hinata turned around and saw the clock, almost screaming. She hurriedly walked out of the house.

By the time Sasori was done changing and out the door, Hinata was only a fraction of the distance. And she was running. "What the hell, woman!? You're so slow!" Sasori yelled, trying to slow down so he could talk to her. "S-Sorry! I'm not exactly the most athletic person in the world." Hinata huffed. Sasori glanced at his watch. "Damn. That's it. Come on."

Sasori carried Hinata bridal style and ran full speed towards the school. Amazingly, they came in just in time to sit down before class.

Panting heavily, Sasori slammed his head on his desk. "S-Sasori!" Hinata put a hand on his shoulder. "God as my witness you'll learn to run…" Sasori panted, half-glaring at Hinata.

"Okay class, so I don't have to do this later, I'll collect those essays I gave for homework yesterday." The teacher said. Sasori let out a low growl. _I blame you._ He glared at Hinata. _S-Sorry!_ Her worried look said.

-:-

"Oh, you guys made it!" Neji said, walking up to Hinata and Sasori at lunch. "When did you guys leave the house?" Deidara asked. "Five… minutes… before…" Sasori muttered, his head on the table. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Hinata kept bowing. "What happened?" Deidara asked. "I-I'm a slow runner and… he carried me all the way to school in five minutes… Oh, I'm so sorry! I had no idea I was that heavy!" Hinata apologized again.

_God… I thought spreading that rumor would do me __good__ in school… no one's said a word around here! How boring!_ Sasori thought bitterly. _Where's that blonde chick I talked to yesterday?_ He looked around in his line of vision and saw Ino talking to her friends in one corner. _That better be that… that thing I told her… that she's talking abou…t…_

Sasori drifted off to sleep. "S-Sasori?" Hinata leaned over close to his face. "He's sleeping!" She whispered. "I'll take him to the nurse's office." Neji offered. "Wait, I think he's waking up." Deidara said, leaning over to see.

Sasori groaned, pushing himself off the table. He couldn't stay up for long and fell onto Hinata. "Oh… I had no idea he'd get this tired!" Hinata said, propping him up on the chair. "Now… how to take him to the nurse's office without making it look like a Yaoi story…" Deidara said.

Hinata (somehow) got Sasori on her back. "I-I think I'll try taking him to the office… maybe he just needs sleep." Gathering up all the strength she had, she started walking. Lucky for her, the nurse's office was close to the lunch room. Maybe it was because the school was half-famous for it's very bad food.

Hinata told the nurse at the desk what happened, and the nurse led them to an empty bed. "Are you going to stay with him for a bit?" She asked. "Is that alright?" Hinata asked, Sasori still on her back. "If you want to." The nurse replied. "Okay, thank you." The nurse nodded and left the two alone.

_Alrighty then… how to do this…_ Hinata moved the blanket aside and let Sasori drop from her back onto the bed. She heard something crack. "Ack…" She turned around slowly and saw Sasori's head on the other side of the bed. "D-Did I kill you!?" Hinata asked, trying to get Sasori in a better position than where he was. "U-Um… W-Wake up…?" She started to panic.

It wasn't until she heard a small groan that she felt relieved. "Argh… Damn girl! What did you do to my neck?" Sasori sat up and cracked his neck back into place. "S-Sasori? You're okay?" Hinata asked, surprised. "Oh god, there you go, stuttering again! Where am I?"

Sasori looked around and saw that he was in the nurse's office. "Why am I here?" he asked. "U-Um… you fell asleep in the lunch room and…" Hinata trailed off. "Look, I'm really, reeeally sorry." She apologized. Sasori plopped down on the bed. "I could really use a nap, though." He said, yawning. "Okay, well, do you want me to leave?" Hinata asked, getting up from the chair she was sitting on. "Your call." Sasori said, closing his eyes.

Right when he was crossing the bridge to dreamland, it crumbled at the voice of a certain blonde. "Oi! Is Sasori okay?" Deidara moved the curtain over a bit and walked by the bed. "Shh. He's sleeping." Hinata apparently decided to stay.

"Hinata, classes start soon. You'd better get going." Neji said. "Um…" Hinata glanced at Sasori for a second. "O-Okay." He had fallen asleep already, so what would be the harm?

Hinata stopped for a second. "Do you want me to come back later?" she asked. "Visitors are always nice." Sasori replied. "Okay. See you later."

The second Hinata stepped into the classroom, she was swarmed by all the girls in the classroom and a few curious boys.

"OH MY GAWD!! YOU REALLY DID IT!?"

"How is he?"

"Are you pregnant now?"

"You, of all people!"

"Tell us now!"

_Wh… What!?_ Hinata was eventually shoved out of the classroom, everyone following her. Whatever it was they were talking about, it was big. She ran all around the school, the teachers not noticing. When she found a place to hide, the people did too. _Oh gosh… is this what it feels like to be a celebrity?_

Hinata barged into the nurse's office and locked the door. Suddenly everything fell silent, the soft murmurs of the crowd outside. Hinata slid down to the floor, heaving a big sigh. "Sasori…" She growled. "This has your _stink_ all over it." She got up and stomped to where Sasori was sleeping. He was awake, a small smirk playing onto his face.

"Moi?" he chuckled a little. "Sasori! What did you tell them!?" Hinata demanded, her hands on her hips, a not amused look on her face.

"(I told them that) we had sex and that we were going out." Sasori said nonchalantly. "Y-Y-You what!?" Hinata almost shrieked.

Sasori jumped out of bed and wrapped an arm around her waist. "According to the public, we're a couple."

Neji and Deidara walked down the hallway and noticed the crowd in front of the nurse's office. "Wow, this school always has something happening, huh?" Deidara laughed a bit. "That's where Sasori's staying, right? Let's go see what's going on." Neji and Deidara pushed through the crowd just in time to see…

Sasori leaned down and kissed Hinata.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!?" Neji and Deidara's jaws dropped at the sight. Everything was silent, yet there was a crowd of screaming girls right behind them. Sasori_ kissed_ Hinata. At least, that's what everyone saw.

Sasori actually kissed Hinata's cheek. The silhouette from a distance looked otherwise. Sasori knew that, of course. Hinata didn't (of course :P)

Hinata opened her eyes and saw Neji and Deidara pounding angrily on the door. She gasped, and made a move to open the door, but Sasori was holding her tightly.

"SASORI YOU BASTARD!!" was what Neji and Deidara were yelling. They pounded on the door until the glass broke. They jumped through and tackled Sasori. "THAT WAS HER FIRST KISS, DAMMIT!!" Neji yelled. "THAT WAS MEANT FOR ME!! _ME!!_" Deidara shouted. "N-Neji-nii-san! Deidara-nii-san!" Hinata cried.

"Hinata! I love-!" Deidara was shoved over by Neji. "NO!! I LOVE-" Neji was shoved aside by Sasori. "WE LOVE YOU!!" Please keep in mind that whatever Sasori does is compelled by the eye of the public.

Hinata glanced at the three on the floor, and then the crowd outside. She could hear things like, "Aren't they her brothers? Neji and Deidara I mean." And "Woah! Triple confession!?" things like "Kids! Get back to class!" and last but not least, "Aaawkward…" That one was the most accurate statement for this moment.

Then, her eyes fell upon the beds lined up in the room. She slowly walked over to one of them and lied down, letting out a big sigh. "So exhausting…" she said, turning away from the noise, the guys, and the picture of the human body on the wall. Sleep was the only way she saw out of a situation like this for her. And, surprisingly, it worked.

Neji, Deidara, and Sasori were confused by this choice of action. The crowd outside thought it was a boring one, and continued on their way. Half the reason because the teachers told them to. The three men in the room (Neji, Dei, and Sasori) walked to Hinata on the bed. Non of them spoke. Maybe that they (or just Sasori) said was a little too much.

When they made sure that she was asleep, the three discussed their feelings for Hinata. Starting with Sasori. "Well, incest, half incest, and love-hate. An odd combination, don't you think?" he said. "Uh huh." The other two agreed. "How do we… what do we…" Neji had trouble putting the question into words. "We play a video game." Deidara suggested. Sasori coughed out the word, 'Retarded'. "Well, do you have any better ideas?"

There was a moment of silence. "So… Sasori. You kissed her once. How'd she taste?" Deidara asked. "… I only kissed her cheek. You two confessed for a misunderstanding." Sasori answered. An awkward silence followed.

"WHAT!?"

-:- Sasori childhood special part 2 -:-

"Welcome to Akatsuki Academy, buddy." Deidara (age 8)

"Akatsuki Academy? What's that?" Sasori asked. "Uh… how to explain… It's like… school. Only you don't have to (or don't get to) go home. They teach really cool stuff that you don't at normal schools! And plus, I've already made like 7 other friends on the first few days!" Deidara explained. "Really? Who was your first friend?" Sasori asked.

Deidara thought a moment. "Uh… by friends I meant subordinates." He said. "Subordinates? What's a 'subordinates'?" Sasori asked. "They told me it meant… uh… that they were like… uh… people who work beside you. Only instead of just people you know, they're like your small group of friends. At least, _I_ call them friends." Deidara explained.

"So, to answer your question, I guess you're my first friend here." Deidara added, grinning. Sasori smiled. "How old are you?" he asked. "Huh? Oh, I'm 8 and a half. I'm turning 9 in November!" Deidara answered proudly. "I'm 7. Turning 8 in August." Sasori said. There was a short silence.

"Uh… what did you say your name was again?" Deidara asked. "Hm? Uh, Sasori." Sasori answered. "Okay. I'll introduce you to the guys later."

In the morning, Deidara showed Sasori around. Everyone seemed nice. _Seemed._ Whenever Deidara left for something, the other kids in the classroom started picking on him. He was the only one not wearing a uniform at the time, so he was easy to target with spitballs and paper airplanes. Sasori felt bad for looking to Deidara for help, but he was his first and only friend in that place.

"Deidara, when can I meet the other people in your group?" Sasori asked. "Huh? Oh! I guess at lunchtime. We always sit together at lunchtime!" Deidara grinned. From then on, the two became inseparable. Like an older brother with his little bro.

At lunch, Deidara led Sasori to their part of the lunchroom. It was a very large room, meant to hold the whole student body in their little groups. Deidara and Sasori's group was in the corner.

"Hey, guys! This is my best friend, Sasori! He's new to the group, so be nice." Deidara said, sitting down next to something similar to a plant. "Oi, Zetsu! Wassup?" Deidara asked. "Eating **food.**" Zetsu replied.

"Uh…" Sasori couldn't find a place to sit down. Well, there were tons of empty spaces; it's just that he couldn't find a place to _comfortably_ sit down. "Oh! Sasori, you can sit… there! Next to Hidan!"

Sasori looked at the silver-haired boy at the edge of the table. He didn't look friendly at all – and were those blood stains on his shirt? Where did those cuts on his arm come from? And why the hell did he look so angry at him?

"Don't worry, he won't bite." Deidara said as Sasori walked over to sit down. "I hope." Deidara added, making Sasori shiver.

Hidan stared intently at Sasori. It wasn't until Sasori summed up the guts to look back that Hidan smiled. "Hey, I'm Hidan. Nice to meetcha." He shook hands with Sasori. "I'm Kakuzu." A boy wearing a face mask and full head gear looked at him. "This face gear is to protect your eyes from what it conceals." Kakuzu said darkly. "Uh…" A boy with auburn hair stood up from where he sat. "I'm Pein. I'm the leader and you will call me as such." The girl sitting beside him said, "You're not the leader, you were just in this squadron first."

"Sasori, this is my girlfriend, Konan. She's second in command because I'm the leader and I say so." Pein said. The girl shook her head. "Sasori, don't believe him. I'm not his girlfriend, and he's not the leader." Konan said, crossing her arms over her chest. "She's just playing hard to get." Pein slammed his head on the table in pain (pun indirectly intended).

"Yeah, Me playing hard to get is as true as saying that I didn't kick you hard in the shin." Konan said. "And you did." Deidara laughed. Sasori laughed a little bit too. "Aw, you have a cute laugh, Sasori." Konan said. "Uh… thanks…?" Sasori said timidly. Hidan nudged him in the shoulder. "She complimented you. Soak it in, it's a rare moment." He said, laughing a little.

Sasori noticed someone blue sitting at the corner of the table. The blue boy glanced up at him then quickly looked away. "Uh… Hi…?" Sasori called to him. "Kisame, come on, say hello!" Deidara said, patting Kisame on the back. He mumbled a small hi.

"He's picked on a lot because he looks like a fish." Pein said. "I don't see why, though. Zetsu here is a plant." Zetsu waved. "Well, Kisame, just know that we're all respectable people that would never make fun of you." Kisame looked up and grinned. Sasori smiled.

_Maybe I'll get used to this place, too!_ He thought hopefully.

-:-

_Dear Grandma Chiyo,_

_I've been taken to Akatsuki by force a few days ago. I hope to get used to this school as soon as possible to lead a healthy, academic life. But… I'm surrounded by people who frankly… scare me. And I'm kinda freaking out._

Sasori accidentally dropped his pencil and let out a dramatic gasp. "Uh-oh." Someone bent over and picked it up, holding it up for Sasori to see. "Uh… Thanks!" _Huh. I guess the people aren't so bad here after all._ Sasori looked up to the guy. The guy took a big bite out of the pencil, loud chewing noises emitting from his mouth. "Gaah!" The person swallowed the pencil.

_He… ate… my… pencil. He ate my pencil!_ Sasori took out his pencil case and dumped them all on his desk, to see what the guy would do. He gathered up all the pencils and shoved them all in his mouth at once. The loud chewing noises were scaring him. _That… That can't be normal… He at all of 'em._ Behind him the guy threw up all the pencils. _These guys are not your run-of-the-mill children…_

-:-

Can anybody say… CROMARTIE HIGH SCHOOL!?!? XDD Kamiyama would be Sasori (or vice versa) lol. Okay, I'll try my best at writing Fairy Tale now…

P.S: I should really start on those NejiHina moments soon...


	7. Itachi's Confession?

You know, I've decided to leave this story as 'Yet To Be Titled'… I dunno, it sorta grew on me, y'know? Well, I just wanna thank you for your helpful ideas… seriously. And I'm sorta iffy on those NejiHina parts myself… but I _sorta_ know what to do about those.

-:-

Sasori, Neji, and Deidara stayed a while in the nurse's office, watching Hinata sleep. The bell rang, and Deidara carried Hinata on his back all the way home. It was a very awkward day for all three of them, and they were all hoping that Hinata would forget such a thing.

When she woke up on the couch, Hinata immediately noticed that Neji had a small cut on his cheek. Probably from when he jumped through the glass on the door. She got a bandage and quickly put it on Neji's cheek. Then she plopped down on the couch again, letting out a small sigh. "What… What happened back there at school…?" She asked softly. Lucky them, she remembered everything. Everything.

Deidara looked at Neji, who looked at Sasori, who looked away from both of them and at Hinata. "Absolutely nothing." He answered her. "You look tired though, so why don't you go sleep, okay?" Sasori helped Hinata up from the couch and let her walk up to her room. When he made sure she was gone in her room, he sighed and sat on the couch. "We're in a real pickle." He said.

"Are you sure it's a pickle? 'Cause I think it's a cucumber." Deidara laughed at his lame vegetable joke. Neji whacked him on the head. "…Anyway, we gotta do something about this whole 'loving Hinata' thing." Sasori said, running both hands through his red hair.

"Well, you always say that you hate her, so you should drop out of the race. And Neji… well, you're you, so you should drop out as well. Which leaves me, Deidara, the winner by default!" Deidara said proudly. Sasori glared at him. "…True as that may be, It's not really _her_ that I hate, it's the way I _feel_ about her that I truly despise." He said. "I agree with me dropping out of the, uh… 'race'… what I feel for her is… maybe… an advanced version of brotherly love or something." Neji said, blushing a bit. "… I second the motion." Sasori and Deidara said in unison. "Shut up! Hearing you two say that makes me want to prove you wrong!" Neji yelled.

"Aagh, whatever! I'm getting a glass a' water…" Deidara trailed off when he walked by the stairs. Neji leaned a bit to the side and saw Hinata sitting on the steps. How long had she been there? How much did she hear? Neji blushed at the thought. _How embarrassing… and careless…_ he thought.

"Wh…What were you guys… talking about…?" Hinata asked quietly, her cheeks dark red. "U-Uh… Well, y-you see…" Deidara started. Suddenly, she fell forward, Neji running over to catch her. Sasori was behind her. He knocked her out from the back of the head. "Stupid girl…" he murmured, dusting off his hands. "Wh-Why the hell did you do that!?" Neji asked. "I would never let her go with that information, now would I?" Sasori replied. "I'm going to my room." he said, walking the rest of the way upstairs.

Deidara looked at Hinata and then up the staircase. "Uh… what can I do to… help?" he asked. Neji said that he would take Hinata to her room and that afterwards he'd go to his own. "O-Okay…" Deidara continued to get that glass of water he forgot to get.

-:-

A few hours later, Hinata woke up to a somewhat creaking noise. She groaned and turned around in her sleep, facing away from the wall. Slowly opening her eyes, a hazy figure wearing a black cloak showed up. Blinking a few times, she realized that she was looking at someone she never even thought about seeing in her own room.

"Itachi…nii-san?" Itachi glanced away from the pictures on the desk to Hinata on the bed. "Hey." He grunted, turning back to the pictures. _Dreaming… Itachi-nii-san would never be here right now…_ Hinata buried her face in her pillow. "Haha, I can't believe you still have these pictures." Hinata's eyes snapped open. "Itachi-nii-san." She said, sitting up. "Hm?" Itachi placed the picture he was holding back on the desk and looked at her.

Hinata stared at Itachi intently. "What are you…?" she asked. "Just saying Hi. How've ya been?" Itachi said casually, as if there was absolutely nothing wrong with a high-ranking Akatsuki criminal being in a girl's bedroom. "Uh…" Hinata was nearly speechless (note the "Uh"). Itachi gave her an almost worried look. Did he do something wrong? "Oh, right… I forgot to take off my shoes. How rude of me." He began to take off his shoes, but Hinata quickly said it was fine.

Itachi walked over and sat on the bed. He held Hinata close for a second and snapped a picture. "Aren't you pretty?" he asked, chuckling a little. "Uh…" Hinata turned red for a second. Itachi smiled at her, making her feel a little light headed. She shook her head furiously, snapping her out of her thoughts. "I-Itachi-nii-san, Wh-What are you doing here?" She asked, clutching the blanket. Smirking, Itachi began to crawl on top of Hinata. "I'm here for _you_." He said. "I-Itachi-nii-san…!" Hinata shrunk down as he got closer.

Suddenly, the door opened, and Deidara walked in. "Hinata, are you feeling alright? Sasori hit you pretty hard." He looked up and saw Itachi on top of Hinata. He kept his small grin, despite the big (and quite noticeable) anger mark on his head. Calmly, he walked over to Hinata's bedside, shoved Itachi off of the bed, and sat beside Hinata on the bed. "Are you feeling a little better?" he asked, using the anger mark on his head as a shuriken and throwing it at Itachi. It barely missed his head, cutting off strands of his hair.

"Y-Yeah… th-thanks, Deidara-nii-san…" Hinata said. Deidara smiled at her. "That's good to hear." He kept throwing anger-shuriken at Itachi, who kept dodging them by the strands of hair on his head.

Deidara got up and headed for the door. "I'll go tell everyone else that you're okay now." By now, he had pinned Itachi to the wall with the anger-shuriken. "Itachi, don't move or I'll _kill_ you." Deidara said, smiling widely. Itachi just grunted.

--

"Sasori, you should apologize to Hinata." Neji said. "Apologize for what!? I saved all our asses because I hit her!" Sasori protested. "No, apologize for small lump on her head from when you hit her." Deidara said, walking into the kitchen. He sat beside Sasori and whispered something in his ear. He nodded. "Just warning you. _It's_ on the wall." Deidara said aloud. "Yeah, yeah." Sasori said, getting up and leaving for Hinata's room.

"What was that all about? What's on the wall?" Neji asked. "Huh? Oh, it's nothing." Deidara said nonchalantly, gulping down a cup of water. "…Whatever…" Neji said, getting up. "I'll go do homework or something…" he muttered, walking out of the room.

Deidara took another sip of what was left in the cup of water. "Hm. I wonder if Sasori actually did say sorry. He almost never does." He said aloud.

--

Hinata felt very weird having Itachi staring at her while she half-slept. She felt relieved when Deidara came back. "Come in…" She said. The door opened, but Hinata's relief turned into disappointment when Sasori walked in.

Sasori looked at the wall, nodding at Itachi. Completely ignoring his yells to let him down, Sasori walked over to where Hinata was on the bed. He didn't sit down beside her, he told her to scoot over so he could lie down. _What the hell!?_ Hinata screamed in her head, scooting over all the way to the wall. "Why so far?" Sasori asked. "Don't you need room for your huge ass…?" Hinata murmured, running a hand through her hair. "Haha, funny." Sasori said sarcastically. He glared at Itachi when he heard him laugh a little.

"…By the way, Itachi, what are you doing here?" Sasori asked. "I came here to yell at you because YOU WON'T LET ME GO!!" Itachi yelled. "Shut up, Neji will hear you." Sasori ordered. "What was that, little punk!?" Itachi shouted, thrashing around. Hinata crawled out of bed (somehow) and walked to Itachi. "O-Okay, just wait a minute…" She gripped one of the anger-shuriken and pulled it out, doing the same to all of them until Itachi was free. He got up and dusted himself off. "Thank you." He said.

"CALL THE COPS! AN AKATSUKI IS IN THE HOUSE!!" Sasori suddenly yelled. "Kyaah! S-Sasori!" Hinata told him to be quiet. Lucky for them, no one heard. Itachi sighed. "Alright, it has become clear that Sasori-_chan_ doesn't want me here." He glared at Sasori for a second. "Hinata, since you might not see me again for a while, I just want to tell you one thing," he put a hand on her shoulder.

"I love you." He said firmly. Hinata turned red. "Uh…" Sasori was ready to throw an anger-shuriken at Itachi. "Bye!" Itachi pecked Hinata on the cheek and left through the window.

Hinata put a hand over her heart. It was beating fast. "Ah…" She staggered to the bed and sat down beside Sasori. "He loves me." She said, flushing red. He didn't know why, but Sasori started feeling angry. "Shut up about that! That's all in the past now! He _left_ you!" Sasori got up and gripped Hinata's shoulders. "(It happened 5 minutes ago!) Why are you getting so worked up about it? It's not like I love him back or anything." Hinata said, brushing off Sasori's hands.

"And it's not like you're jealous, right?" she asked, standing up. "Er…" Sasori watched her as she made her way to the door. She looked back at him and noticed his confused look. "Um, I'm just getting a glass of water. You can stay here, if you like. I'm coming back." She smiled and closed the door behind her.

Sasori plopped down on the bed. _But I _am_ jealous…_ he growled. He turned face down on the pillows and noted how they smelled like Hinata. _Okay, now I'm scaring myself. I'm _sniffing_ her stuff. Stalker-ish…_ Sasori wrapped himself in her blankets. _Shit. I love her scent. I'm scaring myself even more!_ Suddenly, he sat up straight, the blanket down by his waist. _WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING!?_ His intention was to roll off the bed, but he rolled toward the wall. His body had no intention to leave, did it?

Hinata came back with her glass of water. She saw Sasori tangled up in her sheets. "…What are you doing?" she asked, setting the glass of water on the side table. Sasori sat up in bed again, giving her an almost panicked look. Hm. This was rare. "Sasori?"

Sasori leapt at her, bringing her down to the floor. "Kyah!" She squeaked. Sasori was on top of her. "Hinata. I'm thinking _really_ weird things about you. Tell me why!" he demanded. "H-How should I know?" Hinata tried to push him off, but he was strong, she realized. "_You're_ the reason I'm behaving like this! And I don't usually act like this around girls! Hell, I don't act like this in general!" Sasori sat her up and pinned her against the side of the bed.

"Th-That's starting to hurt…" Hinata said. "I don't care." Still, Sasori loosened his grip just a bit. They stayed like that for a few minutes, then he let go of her. It was silent now. Hinata moved to sit on the bed, then, with both hands, tilted Sasori's face up to see hers. "Are you okay?" she asked. Sasori's eyes widened a bit as he stared at her.

After a few minutes, he blushed dark red and turned away. Standing up, he muttered "Yeah." And left the room. Hinata stared at the door in case he came back, then lied down on the bed. _What a weird day…_ she sighed.

The next day, when the four of them went to school, Hinata was constantly bothered by the curious people who witnessed the event that took place yesterday.

-:-

"Hey, Hinata?" Shikamaru said, leaning forward a bit to see Hinata's face. She slammed her head on her desk a few minutes before, and now he was starting to wonder if she was okay. "Hmmn…?" Hinata's head turned slightly to look at him. "You okay?" he asked. "Hmmn." Hinata turned back to the desk. "Uh… Is it because Sasori isn't here today?" Shikamaru asked. Hinata shook her head. "I'm glad he's not here."

Shikamaru laughed a little. "You know, if you don't like him, you don't have to date him. Just break up with him. Really." He said, sitting down in his seat. Hinata sat up. "Break up with him." She repeated. Shikamaru nodded. "Break up with him." She stood up and left the classroom with her schoolbag and jacket. "W-Wait, class is starting…" Shikamaru started, but she was already gone.

"Shikamaru! Where's Hinata off to?" Ino asked, sitting in Hinata's desk. "I dunno." Shikamaru replied, turning a bit red. _There she is…_ he thought, glancing at Ino once in a while. He frowned when the teacher told her to move back to her own seat, which was almost all the way across the classroom. _Better luck next time, dude…_ he told himself, resting his head in his arms on the desk.

Meanwhile, Hinata was storming down the empty sidewalks of Konoha, towards home. She wasn't even sure if Sasori was there, but skipping school was something she's always wanted to do. She didn't even do the homework that was due then anyway.

Hinata slammed the door open when she reached the house. It made a small echo, then a small groan was heard from upstairs. She gently closed the door after that, careful not to make whoever was upstairs any more in pain than he already sounded. Then she slowly went up the stairs, straight to Sasori's room.

"Sasori! I came here to…!" Hinata looked at the bed and noticed that Sasori was lying sick in bed. He turned slightly to glare at her. "Keep it down, will ya? I'm freakin' tired…" He muttered, wrapping himself in his blanket. "S… Sorry." Hinata walked over and sat down beside his bed.

_He's sick! Perfect! Now I can't break up with him without looking like a jerk!_ She thought, sighing.

"I blame you." Sasori said. "Hm?" Hinata turned slightly to look at him. "I _never_ got sick back at Akatsuki. This is my first time." Sasori explained. "Oh." The two were silent again.

"…So what was it that you came here for?" Sasori asked. "To break up with you." Hinata said casually, resting her head on the bed. Sasori looked surprised for a second. "Why?" he asked. "We hate each other, for starters." Hinata answered, laughing a bit. "I don't hate you." Sasori said. He blushed for a second, realizing what he just said. "uh… I mean, I don't hate you… that much." He corrected himself.

Hinata laughed a little. "That's why we shouldn't be dating. I don't really want a boyfriend who doesn't… you know, love me. So that's why I'm breaking up with you." She closed her eyes and noticed how sleepy she was. Sasori frowned. "I can't believe you're breaking up with me in this condition." He crossed his arms across his chest. "Sorry." Hinata said, not opening her eyes.

Sasori looked at her for a minute. Then, he leaned over and cupped her face. It was an awkward position, because he was holding her upside-down. He ran his thumb over her soft cheek, leaning a bit closer. But Hinata opened her eyes, making him stop. "Sa…so…ri?" she said softly. "Hinata." He leaned down to whisper in her ear. "…I _want_ to date you."

His breath sent chills down her spine. She felt him kiss her forehead. "But the decision is yours." He said, lying back on the bed. "O…O-Okay…" Hinata stuttered, turning dark red. This time, Sasori didn't mind.

-:-

Deidara flinched. "What?" Neji asked. "Something terrible has happened." Deidara said.

The lunch bell rang, and everyone immediately stormed out of the classroom to eat. Neji expected to see Hinata somewhere, but she wasn't. "Hey, where's Hinata?" he asked Deidara. "Hm… maybe she followed my example and skipped school?" Deidara laughed a bit. Neji hit his stomach. "Deidara! What if that terrible thing you were talking about happened to Hinata!?" he said, suddenly very worried. "She's fine."

"I wanna make sure. I'm going home to make sure." Neji said, walking towards the door. "Neji, hey, wait!" Deidara followed him. "Hinata's fine! We don't have to worry about her!" By now they were on the sidewalk towards home. They reached a stoplight. "We don't have to go check up on her! She's probably not feeling well, so she went home!" Deidara said. "Well, do you really want to stay at school?" Neji asked. Deidara stopped for a second. "…Smart." He nodded, following Neji down the street.

When they reached the house, they heard muffled noises coming from upstairs. Neji slowly walked up the stairs and noted that the noises were from Sasori's room. _This could be bad._ Deidara stormed past Neji and ran into Sasori's room, slamming open the door.

"Sasori! What do you think you're-!" Hinata slapped a hand over Deidara's mouth when he came in. when she was sure he was going to be quiet, Hinata lowered her hand. "Sasori's sleeping. He's sick." She whispered. "What are you guys doing here, anyway?" she asked, looking at Neji. "I noticed you weren't at lunch and got worried." Neji muttered, clutching his stomach. He was seriously hungry.

"Sasori's sick? He's never sick! He never got sick when we were back at Akat-!" Hinata gently kicked his knee. Deidara gave her a confused look, then saw her nod towards Neji. "He never gets sick." Neji looked at them questioningly, then turned around. "I'm going to my room." he said.

Hinata walked back to the bed. "… well, I think he'll be fine on his own now, so I'll go ahead and go back to school." She walked past Deidara and went to her room to get her bag. Coming back out, Deidara slowly closed the door to Sasori's room and walked with Hinata down the stairs.

He went in front of her when they reached the door. "Uh… Deidara-nii-san, I kinda have to go to school so…" Hinata started. "D-Do you have to go?" Deidara asked. "…I can at least make it for last period. Why?" Hinata looked at him questioningly. "Well… To be serious… I needed to talk to you about something." Hinata smiled at him. "Okay."

Now, the two were sitting on the couch in silence. Hinata was staring at Deidara the whole time, and it was kinda making him nervous. "Um… H-Hinata…?" he started. "Yes?" Hinata replied sharply. "D-Do you have to be so… so serious?" Deidara asked. Hinata relaxed completely on the couch. "No, I suppose not. Go ahead and talk when you're ready, Deidara-nii-san." She smiled at him.

Deidara cleared his throat. "Hinata. I think you should just… not call me 'nii-san' anymore." He said. Hinata gave him a confused look. "Wh… What I mean is… well… would you really want a highly-trained assassin to be your brother? And the highly-trained assassin that killed your parents, no less." He asked. Hinata looked hurt for a second, then spoke up. "… Deidara-nii-san… is Deidara-nii-san. I… I don't really care wh… what he does, even if I don't like it. I love Deidara-nii-san." She said, holding his hand. Deidara felt his heart skip a beat.

"Deidara-nii-san will always be my brother, even if he's adopted… even if he's someone I'm supposed to hate." Deidara felt like she threw a heavy boulder at him. That boulder made him crash into Hinata in a hug. "Hinata… I think you're going to hate me after tomorrow." He whispered, hugging her tighter. "Why's that?" Hinata asked. "… Just don't plan anything for tomorrow night." Deidara gave her one last squeeze in the hug before letting go.

-:- Preview of next chapter? -:-

I need to take Hinata out on at least one date before I start killing again! 'Cause after that she'll start hating me like before. I know I'm losing my chances with her… but this is my job. I love her so much right now… hey… what's that fluff of red hair in the bushes?

--

I'm totally winning Hinata over. I even half-confessed to her! I'm so winning this fight. Soon, she'll stop hating me and start dating me! I hate loving her, but it looks like the love part is winning! …Hey…. What's she doing with Deidara? I'd better hide in the bushes and listen in…

--

I know what I'm feeling is wrong… if I tell her I love her now, it'll be too much for her to stand. Sasori is right. We _should_ do something about this. Maybe they're doing something about this right now! Yeah! I'm not alone here! Wait a second… why are Hinata and Deidara outside together? I wanna come! Is Sasori over there too! They're doing _nothing_ about _anything_ right now! The bastards!

--

I don't know why everyone's being so nice to me… or why Sasori's spying on us from the bushes, but It feels nice to be there for my older brother in his time of trouble. I'm always here to help! And… Sasori… I don't know how to answer your question… I don't know if we should be going out like this… hey… why is Deidara-nii-san coming closer to me? H-Hey! That's a little too close there! _Kyaah!_

--

Can you guess who's who? Stay tuned for the next chapter!

…N-Not really… just… hang tight… okay? I get the feeling nothing's going to make sense from now on…


	8. SLAP!

Warning, random rant ahead. Skip to the next few paragraphs unless you want to read about my pitiful school.

The computers at my school SUCK! I was writing this report in the computer lab, and suddenly, this guy accidentally kicks a wire and SNAP the computer turns off. I was getting really far with that first…half of the first paragraph! I mean, can't we just get separate computers or something!? And plus, the Microsoft Word is so much not like mine that I found it hard to type properly… speaking of typing, the keyboards there SUCK AS WELL!! Sure, we can afford new stairs, a whole new hallway, new bathrooms, automatic flushing toilets, working faucets, good drinking fountains and a whole new TICE HALL but not freaking new computers!? We had to get rid of the good teachers just to afford those! –curses randomly-

I don't switch schools because I'm going to miss hating it.

Oh, and we have a crazy Nun who eats little children. –Exaggeration-

-:-

After a day of curious onlookers and a tiring afternoon of doing laundry, cooking dinner, and finishing piles homework for the weekend, Hinata was finally granted about an hour of rest. _Thank god it's a Friday…_ she sighed, plopping down on her bed. She glanced at the clock. _I've got a whole other hour before I go with Deidara-nii-san on that small date he was talking about. No… not date… uh… a small outing at night between siblings. Yeah…_ and then that hour became the worry hour.

Meanwhile, Deidara was currently scavenging the house for an ounce of change that he could use for the date he had tonight. _No… not date… uh… a small outing at night between siblings… yeah…_ Just then, Neji walked by, heading for the kitchen for a glass of water. "Hey, Neji, do ya have money?" Deidara asked, returning the couch cushions to their rightful place: kicked into a corner where they could be forgotten about.

"It depends on how much you need." Neji said. "Uh… enough to take a certain someone out on a date?" Deidara grinned awkwardly. "…Who?" Neji asked. "Uh… It's a secret." One second later, Neji continued on his way to the kitchen, ignoring Deidara's pleas for money. "Get a job then!" Neji kicked Deidara off of him. "Aw… you suck!"

He walked out of the kitchen in defeat, but grinned when the door closed behind him. "Got his wallet." He said mischievously. Slowly opening the wallet, his grin grew wider when he saw that Neji had about $60 in cash with him. "Very nice, Neji. Very nice." He shoved the wallet in his pocket when Sasori walked by.

Skipping up the stairs (which is very dangerous, by the way) Deidara made his way to Hinata's room. He knocked on the door twice and grinned wider when she said 'Come in'.

"Hinata! Are you ready to go?" he sang, twirling as he entered Hinata's room. "Ah- Um… Y-Yes!" She answered, standing up from her bed. "Okey dokey! –heart-" Deidara held her hand, but froze when he got to the door. Hinata gave him a confused look, but froze up as well when Sasori walked by the room, not noticing a thing. When they were sure he was gone, Deidara let out a long and relieved sigh.

"What, you never told Sasori?" Hinata asked. "I never told _anyone_." Deidara put a finger to his lips. "Why?" she said. "Because I want you all to myself!" he pulled her into a tight hug. She turned red as she wrapped her arms around him as well. "O-Okay…" she said quietly. They stood like that for a few seconds before Deidara said, "Alrighty then… I guess we should go now, huh?" he laughed a little. "Y-Yeah…"

Silently the two walked down the stairs, taking extra care not to make a sound when they reached the kitchen, where Neji was. Then Deidara slowly went for the door, sighing in relief again when the door made no sounds at all. However, the front board of the porch (which was _never_ there before) made the loudest creaking noise, it would make a grenade explosion sound like a whisper. _WHAT THE HELL!?_

Deidara stood still, but Hinata pushed him out the door, making the both of them fall to the ground. "This is why you tell the truth, Deidara." Hinata whispered to him, walking up to close the door. "Now let's go." She smiled at him, making him relax a bit. "Okay. Where do you want to go?" he asked. "I don't know…"

They were standing in the front yard for a few minutes, thinking of what to do. You'd think they actually planned for this, huh?

Sasori sat on a couch in the living room, about to read this very interesting book called "Diary of Hinata Hyuga". Oh how fun it was to torture the ones you loved. Glancing out the window, he saw Hinata and Deidara standing outside together. _Hello there…_ he stood up and leaned over the chair to get a better look. _Deidara! You bastard! Where are you taking Hinata at this hour?_

Deidara held Hinata's hand. "Hey, let's go to the park! I haven't been to one in years." He said, walking in the general direction of some kind of park. "Uh… Okay, but no one's gonna be there this late at night…" Deidara turned back to her. "Perfect." Hinata turned red. _Wha… What does he mean by that…?_ Before she could make her question audible, they reached the park.

Sasori somehow managed to catch up with them without making a sound. He hid in the bushes behind them in the park, trying to find a better place to eavesdrop. Ah, his first unsuccessful mission. He ducked down when Deidara and Hinata sat down at the bench in front of him.

"Hinata…" Deidara started. Hinata just listened. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting to say this…" he paused, just realizing what he just said. "Hm?" Hinata smiled, expecting him to continue. Deidara turned red. "U-Uh… Well… I, uh…" He put his hand over his mouth. "Iloveyou." He mumbled. "Huh?" Turning a darker red, he repeated the same thing. "Deidara-nii-san, you know you can tell me anything."

Sasori shifted his weight on the ground, cursing himself when he snapped a nearby twig. _Shit._ Luckily for him, Deidara didn't notice.

Hinata heard something snap behind them. "What's wrong?" Deidara asked. "N-Nothing." _Now I _know_ wind doesn't make that sound…_ she thought. Ignoring it, she smiled at Deidara. "So… what was that thing you've always wanted to tell me?" she asked.

Deidara turned red again. "Uh… I-It's nothing. Really." He answered, turning away. "Aw, come on, don't say that! It doesn't sound like nothing!" Hinata scooted closer to him so that if he mumbled again she'd hear it. Her being so close made Deidara turn redder.

"Hinata. Do you think it'd be wrong if I kissed you?" he blurted out. _What!? _Sasori thought, an anger mark appearing on his head. "What's that mean?" Hinata asked, a cutely confused expression on her face. "Um… W-Well… It wouldn't exactly be called… 'incest' between you and me, right? I mean, we're not even blood relatives…" Deidara absently scratched his cheek. _Worst. Date. Ever._

Hinata laughed a bit. "Is that what's been bothering you all this time?" she asked. _No. Not even close._ Deidara mentally answered. "N-No… but… could you answer the question anyway?" he asked. Hinata looked confused for a second. "Well… if you kissed me… then there'd obviously be a good reason behind it… and I don't think it'd be called incest either… so… does that help you a bit?" she turned a little red as well.

Suddenly, Deidara wrapped his arms around Hinata, taking her by surprise. "Hinata." He said her name so seriously it made her heart almost skip a beat. "I… I l-love… you." He whispered in her ear.

_The bastard actually said it!_ Sasori said, more angry than impressed. _I've gotta do something! Anything!_ He made a move to stand up, but his leg got caught on the root of a nearby tree, making him almost fall. But he quickly regained his balance, not making a sound.

Hinata let out a small gasp. "I-Is that… why you asked me those questions?" she asked. "Oh, what do you think?" Deidara added a little attitude to that statement. He leaned closer to her face, both of them turning red. "C-Can I?" he asked. She didn't answer, so instead of doing what he wanted, he just gave her a short peck on the cheek. He thought he heard a small sigh of relief, but passed it off as his own small sigh. "Maybe next time, then." He said.

"There won't _be_ a next time when I'm through with you…" Sasori muttered a little too loudly. If it were possible, Deidara and Hinata turned darker in the color red. _Shit… he got me into the habit of cursing, and now he's spying on me during my moments! What the hell is up with this guy!?_ Hinata thought bitterly, mentally cursing Sasori. She leaned against Deidara's chest, close to passing out in embarrassment.

Sasori stood up from where he was behind the bushes. "You actually said it?" he said haughtily, letting out a small chuckle. Deidara looked embarrassed for a second, but didn't say anything. Hinata gritted her teeth. "It's not like she'd say yes, though. I mean, you _did_ kill your own parents. Her parents."

Suddenly, Hinata stood up on the bench and gave Sasori a well deserved and hard slap to the face. The sound echoed through the trees. He glared up at her. _"_Oh, too soon?" he spat. Hinata's hand was still in the air, almost threatening a second strike. But instead, she lowered the hand and let it droop to her side, and for a moment, Sasori regretted something he had done.

"I… I'm sorry…" She said softly. Sasori was taken aback. _Why the hell is she apologizing?_ "Hinata?" Deidara said, tugging at her sleeve. Hinata slowly sat back down. Deidara glanced at Sasori for a second, then wrapped an arm around Hinata's shoulders. "You okay?" he asked. When he saw tears rolling down her cheeks, he pulled on his sleeve and wiped them away with his jacket. "Hey… It's late. We should head back home now." Deidara stood up, holding Hinata's hand.

As they were walking down the sidewalk, Deidara and Sasori let Hinata go in front of them. "Sasori, that was pretty asshole-ish, even for you." Deidara said. "She hit me." Sasori growled, cupping the sore spot on his cheek. "No, really. You should go apologize." Deidara said, sounding a little more serious. "Nah. She won't listen anyway." Sasori stared at Hinata's back. Her shoulders were shaking a little. "Is she cold or something? She's shaking a lot."

Deidara looked at Hinata as well. "Hm. If I know her as well as I think I do, that slap back there was probably one of the first times she's hit anyone." He said. "Really?" Sasori asked. "Hinata… is a very sweet and gentle person. It's kinda expected that she's never hit anyone before." Sasori stayed silent.

A few minutes later, Sasori started to feel uncomfortable. "Gah… I feel stupid." He said, out of the blue. "Why's that?" Deidara asked. "I don't know… it's just… that _she_ apologized when it was _me_ that was supposed to. It just… gets to me." Sasori said. "Good. You're learning something." Deidara said. "I don't learn, Deidara. I teach." Sasori pointed out. "Well, teach yourself to learn. It'll do you good someday." Deidara said, walking up beside Hinata.

"You feeling okay?" he asked, taking hold of her hand. Hinata slowly nodded her head. _Maybe I was wrong. That slap might've been the very first time she hit someone._ He gave her hand a short squeeze before opening the door to the house. "Go ahead to bed, okay? Get some sleep." Deidara said. "And put some ice on that cheek of yours. I think its swelling up."

Hinata turned around worriedly. "I-I'm sorry! I-I-I didn't know that I hit you that hard! I'm so sorry! I'll get that ice pack…" she made her way to the kitchen and came back with a bag of frozen vegetables. "…We don't have ice packs here… sorry…" she said softly, gently placing it against Sasori's cheek. He turned red a little bit. "I-I got it! Just go away." He said. It was obvious that she was still troubled about this, but she went to her room anyway.

"Smooth." Deidara said. "Shut up." Sasori growled, glaring at the stairs for no apparent reason. "You know, tell me when you apologize to her. I've never seen you say sorry before." Deidara laughed a little, ducking when a throw pillow was aimed in his direction.

With a small grunt, Sasori stomped up the stairs and made his way to Hinata's bedroom. He didn't bother knocking, he just let himself in.

"Hinata! I've got something to say to you!" he half-yelled. Hinata stared up at him. "I… I-I-I-I-I!!" _Well shit._ Sasori was, frankly, making a complete fool of himself. He sat down beside the bed, running his hands through his hair. Then, looking up, he looked Hinata right in the eye and said. "I'm sorry." To tell the truth, Hinata felt like laughing. He didn't look very serious with a pack of frozen vegetables on his face.

When he saw the small smile on Hinata's face, Sasori turned so red, it was almost hot enough to cook the frozen pack of vegetables. "What's with that look, Huh!?" he asked, half-embarrassed, half relieved that she was cheering up. "S-Sorry…" her smile grew wider, making him calm down a little. "Whatever…" he muttered.

"Did I hit you that hard? I'm sorry… Here let me look at it…" Hinata removed the pack from Sasori's cheek. "Hey, Hinata… Those things I said… I… I didn't mean them. I guess… I was just… a little…" he trailed off lamely. "Jealous." He murmured. Hinata smiled a little wider. "Okay." She said softly.

_That was the biggest hurt to my pride yet. I've gotta get outta this house sometime… just not now…_ Sasori thought. The two stayed in that position for a little bit. "I think your cheek's okay now." Hinata said. Instead of pulling away, Sasori leaned up to kiss her cheek. She turned red. Without saying a word, he left the room.

-:-

Deidara sat on his bed and took out the list of people he put off killing until now. Realizing that most of the people on the list were people he knew, he decided to change the subject. _I've gotta clean up sometime… Like now. _Standing up, he began to pick up and organize random papers, throwing some away. "Ah… here's the essay that was due two weeks ago…" he muttered, throwing it away. It's not like he's going back to school.

He gave up on cleaning halfway through the room. He decided to just mix everything into one huge stack and put it beside the desk. The stack was taller than the lamp, he realized. _Alright… I'll organize half of it. But that's all._ He sat down at the desk, reaching for the first few sheets of paper. He had it all planned out. Schoolwork: Garbage. Other: To be looked at later. Akatsuki was divided into two separate sections, done and not done.

Pretty soon, he reached half of the stack, and even then it was still a little taller than the desk. _Maybe a little more._ Pretty soon, he decided to just get rid of the stack altogether, and, also pretty soon, it was morning. His head slammed against the desk, immediately falling asleep. _Ugh… why did I do that…?_

While Deidara was asleep, Hinata was waking up, getting ready to cook breakfast. She stretched in bed and yawned. Taking a quick stop to the bathroom, she walked by Deidara's room and noticed that he was sleeping on his desk. Slowly, she tip-toed towards him, trying to see if he were actually asleep. Hinata gently placed a hand on his shoulder; he didn't move.

"Deidara-nii-san…" she whispered. "You can't sleep here. You have to go on the bed, unless you want to get a stiff neck when you wake up." As if he would hear her. She didn't really want him to feel uncomfortable, so she placed a pillow from his bed under his head.

Just as she was about to leave, Deidara began sleep-talking. "Mnn… Hinata…" Hinata turned around. "I didn't mean to… didn't want to… kill them…" he muttered. _What is he…?_ She sat on his bed and watched him. "I didn't want to… make you sad…" _Ah… he's talking about mom and dad…_ Hinata rested her head on her hand and listened. "Don't… hate me… I love you."

It was then that he woke up. He was surprised to see Hinata there. "Ah… Hinata-!" Suddenly, she slammed her body against his in a tight hug, almost falling off the chair. "D-Deidara-nii-san…" she whispered. Deidara slowly wrapped his arms around Hinata. "I was just dreaming of you." He said, stroking her hair. "… I-I don't… h-hate you… I'm… I'm not sad anymore… S-So please… d-don't… do that anymore…"

Deidara hugged her a little tighter. "Okay." He kissed her cheek and let her go. "Alright. Go ahead and cook breakfast… I think I'm going to go sleep a little more…" Deidara yawned a little, taking his pillow and throwing it on the bed. "H-Hold on a sec…" Hinata stood up and lightly pecked him on the cheek.

"Okay. Are you gonna eat breakfast?" She asked. "M-M-Maybe…" Deidara stood there, frozen in place. His face was dark red. "Alrighty. See ya." Hinata walked out of the room. right when the door closed, Deidara fell onto the bed with a happy and content sigh.

-:-

Feeling Status!

They record what each character feels about one another in one or two words!

Neji

Hinata: Love/Sibling

Deidara: Annoyance/Sibling

Sasori: "…"

Deidara

Hinata: Love/Extreme Love

Neji: Brother

Sasori: Mature Brat/ Little bro (as in, wassup, dude! Haha)

Sasori

Hinata: Love/Hate

Deidara: Annoyance/ annoying bro

Neji: "…"

Hinata

Deidara: Love?/ Troubled brother

Sasori: Love?/ Hate

Neji: Caring older brother

P.S.: Srry for the long wait... lots of stiff happened D: oh well, i'll try to update quicker! Really!


	9. Would You Tell Me if Someone Kissed You?

Opening Omake Theatre: Neji's Wallet

When Deidara took Neji's wallet when he took Hinata out on that date, what happened to the wallet? They only went to a park and spent no money at all.

Well, Deidara never returned the wallet, actually. He kept it in the jeans pocket he wore then. Maybe he was planning something else to spend Neji's money on? Oh well…

Opening Omake Theatre 2: Sasori

In the early chapters of 'Yet to Be Titled', Sasori's been –to put it bluntly- an asshole to everyone. Nowadays, he's learned to tolerate Hinata's shy stuttering and opened up to his feelings to her. Sure, sometimes he's a serious jerk to her, but he's just… confused. Yeah…

Opening Omake Theatre: End

-:-

Deidara slipped on his Akatsuki cloak, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable. It was his first time going out to kill after a while. He walked towards the door, but realized that he forgot to bring a few people's profiles with him. Turning around, he bumped into someone.

"Watch it." The person said. Deidara looked down and saw Sasori in his own Akatsuki cloak, holding a small folder. "You too?" Deidara asked. "Don't talk to me. I'm suddenly very pissed off at you." Sasori stormed out of the house, shoving a handful of the crumpled papers into his pocket and throwing the folder in the bushes. "See ya later." He muttered, disappearing from sight a few seconds later.

Tip-toeing up the stairs, he went back to his room, deciding to just escape through the window after getting his papers. Then, he walked around the house to close the door. He didn't want some unsuspecting bad person to come in to kill everybody.

Walking out onto the streets, he saw that Sasori was already getting busy. He was in and out of a house in under a minute, nobody knowing that he was there. Then he got to thinking: What did the leader have against all these people? Not that it mattered. "Lessee…" Deidara took out one of those profiles, reading over the address. Then, immediately he got to work.

-:-

Sasori came back to the house before Deidara did. It was only 4:00am, so he could get some sleep before having to wake up again. But, instead of going straight to bed, he took a quick shower to get the smell of blood away. When he was finished, Deidara arrived home, blood on almost every part of the body except for the hair.

"Jesus, what did you do to yourself?" Sasori asked. "Uh… one of them woke up and things got… complicated… Hehe…" Deidara said. "You done? I kinda need a shower about now…" he sneaked into the bathroom, the sounds of a shower starting coming from it. Sasori sighed and walked back to his room.

--

Today, Neji brought up something very awkward at the breakfast table.

"Hey… I've noticed something." He said. "The Akatsuki that attacked Hinata never came back for his cloak." Sasori glared at Deidara. _It was you, wasn't it?_ His eyes growled. Deidara just smiled a little. "Well, do you want him to come back?" Hinata asked, glancing nervously at Deidara. "Not really… but it's kinda nerve-wracking having that cloak here. In fact… haven't checked on it in a while… I should-"

"I'LL CHECK ON IT FOR YOU!!" Deidara yelled. He just realized that he never put the cloak back where Neji left it. He put it in the hamper in the bathroom like a normal piece of laundry. He gave Hinata a look that told her what happened. "U-Uh… O-Oh dear! I forgot to take the laundry from the bathroom! I'll go do that now!" she said, so obvious that she was lying that it almost made Sasori cry. What a sad attempt.

Neji looked confused. "Uh… Alright, Deidara. Just don't touch it, okay?" he said. "YES! OF COURSE! I wouldn't dream of it!" Deidara saluted stupidly and immediately left the room. Neji looked at Hinata, who stared blankly at the table. "Hinata?" he asked. "AH! Wh-What?" Hinata squeaked, looking around. "Um… you said something about a load of laundry in the bathroom?" Neji said. "AH! Y-Yes! Of course! I-I-I'll go do that now!" Hinata quickly got up and left the room immediately.

Then Neji looked at Sasori, who had his head in his hand. He seemed to be shaking. "What's up with you?" he asked. "-sniff- Stupid girl…" Sasori murmured, rubbing his eyes.

"…Are you crying?"

--

Hinata didn't bother to look in the basket of laundry. She really didn't want to see what was in there. Taking the basket and walking down the stairs, she quietly walked down to the basement, where Deidara was. "Ahh! Thank you so much!" he said, looking through the basket and taking out the cloak. "You're a lifesaver!" he quickly shoved the cloak into the small drawer and slammed it shut.

He noticed that Hinata had a troubled look on her face. Well, not that he could see, it was so dark, but the fact that she wasn't talking much was a clue. "Hinata?" He stopped for a second. _Oh._ She must've figured it out by now.

"Y… You went out killing again last night… didn't you?" she said. Deidara didn't say anything. "…I thought you stopped…" she said, backing away a little. "…I never stopped… I just took a break." Deidara said. Hinata didn't say anything this time. "Come here?" he held out a hand, hoping for a small hug. Almost reluctantly, Hinata responded by taking his hand. He pulled her into a short hug. To tell the truth, Deidara was a little surprised that she actually wanted to hug him.

He felt her pull away. "Um… L-Lately… I've found it useless to hate people… and the things they do. And I know that… if you actually stopped what you were doing, one day I'll be going to your funeral. S-So… I-I-I won't bother you about it anymore." Hinata stuttered, turning red. Deidara smiled. "Okay." He kissed her head.

"Hey, you guys okay?" Neji called, leaning over the railing. "Yeah. Hinata just wanted to see the cloak too." Deidara called back. "Okay, well, me and Sasori are finished. You two can go ahead and eat." Neji walked away.

Deidara put a hand on Hinata's shoulder. "You gonna go put that load of laundry in the washer?" he asked. "Uh… Y-Yes! Okay!" Hinata quickly closed the basket and carried it upstairs. Deidara stood there until she left. Then, a few seconds later, he thought, _God I wanna kiss her so badly…_ he walked up the stairs to finish his breakfast.

-:-

Sasori rubbed his eyes. He hadn't cried in so long that one tear made his eyes itchy. _Damn that Hinata…_ he cursed, shoving his face in a pillow. "Gah!" he threw the pillow in the air and let it land somewhere on the bed. Staring at the ceiling he started thinking.

He started with yesterday, when Hinata slapped him. _…I guess I kinda deserved that. But come on, _I _was supposed to be her first date! If Deidara actually kissed her I'd kill him! That settles it! I'm being Hinata's first kiss and that's final!_ Instead of calming down, he just riled up a new anger. _And if anyone beats me to it, I'll be Hinata's first __first.__ I don't care if she says no! SHE'S MINE._

Sasori sat up, an angry look on his face. He calmed down a bit and rubbed his face. _Getting too possessive there… _he heard someone knock on the door to his room. Walking up to open it, he saw that it was Hinata. "Um… Sasori, I've got your laundry here…" Sasori noticed that his Akatsuki cloak was in that pile. He looked up at her and noticed that she had turned red. "Y-You left it in the hamper in the bathroom… I-It looked dirty so… I w-washed it for you…" She stuttered.

The two were silent for a little bit.

"…So… you washed my underwear too, huh?" Sasori asked, smirking when Hinata turned a darker shade of red. "U-U-Um… W-W-Well… yeah… I-I mean, it was in the hamper… so…" She started playing with her fingers. "How'd you know they were mine?" Sasori asked. "I-I-I just… f-figured…it… out…" she trailed off, staring at the floor. He laughed a bit. "Thanks."

Hinata turned to leave, but Sasori tapped her shoulder. "Hey, can I talk to you?" he asked. "S-Sure…" Hinata timidly walked into his room. "Hinata… would you tell me if someone kissed you?" Sasori asked. Hinata turned red for a second. "Wh-Why would I?" she looked at him questioningly. "So I don't have to force it out of you." Sasori smiled.

"U-Um… Yeah, I guess I'd tell you if someone kissed me… I don't know why you'd care though…" Hinata played with her fingers again. "Oh, I care alright. Wanna know why?" Sasori wrapped an arm around her waist and got close to her face. "It's because I wanna be the first one to kiss you." Hinata turned dark red. "But I guess you don't really want that now, huh?" Sasori let her go.

"……" Silently and awkwardly, Hinata walked out of the room.

-:-

Dinner that night was dead silent. Neji was glancing at everyone, trying to figure out what was wrong. _Did I miss something?_ He didn't say anything, though.

Hinata stood up. "I'm finished… Just leave your plates in the sink. I'll wash them later." She walked up to her room and closed the door.

The room was silent, like it was before. "Guys, wash your own dishes, okay? I think Hinata needs a break." Neji said. "Sasori'll cook breakfast tomorrow morning, too." Deidara said, grinning. Sasori glared at him. "Yeah. Whatever."

"Hey… we should give Hinata the whole day off tomorrow!" Deidara said, smiling. "You're just _full_ of ideas today, aren't you?" Sasori groaned, banging his head on the table. "Like, when you cook breakfast, she could get some extra winks of sleep!" Neji nodded. "That's a great idea. She needs a break. She's been doing our laundry, washing the dishes, cooking meals, and everything. She could use a little help." He agreed.

"Huh? No, no. I just wanted to see the cute expression on her face when she realizes that the guys have taken over." Deidara waved a hand in the air dismissively. Neji and Sasori were both silent.

--

_Hinata was sound asleep in bed, hugging her pillow tightly. She woke up to the sound of someone opening her door. Slowly, she turned around and saw Sasori standing before her without a shirt on. _

"_You ready?" he asked, smirking. "Wha…?" Hinata turned dark red. _What is he talking about…?_She sat up in bed. "Good." Sasori crawled on top of her and kissed her. _H-HOLY CRAP!! H-HE'S… H-HE JUST…!! _"Why so resistant, hm? You wanted this in the first place…" He began to unbutton her shirt. _

I-I-I DID!?_ Hinata slowly wrapped her arms around his neck. They kissed again, only this time a little more passionate. They kept it at kissing until he started doing things that made her moan his name. _

"_S…Sasori…!"_

Hinata jumped up in bed. "KYAAH-!" she quickly stopped herself from screaming at the top of her lungs. She glanced at the clock: 3:00am. Sighing and calming herself down, she thought, _Okay… it… that… whatever that was… it was only a dream… _

She sat in silence for a second. Then, extremely confused, she clutched her head. _WHY THE HELL AM I DREAMING OF SEX WITH SASORI!?_ She slammed her head onto the pillow, covering herself in her blankets. _Oh… that was too weird…_ she squeezed her eyes tight until her body decided to fall asleep.

Morning came, and it was time for Hinata to cook breakfast. Slowly, she slipped out of bed, totally messed up hair and all, and walked down the stairs towards the kitchen. Nobody was up yet, as expected, so she didn't care how much noise she made when she took out the usual frying pan and spatula. She was about to switch on the stove when a hand stopped her. Another arm wrapped around her waist and she got a small kiss on the cheek.

"Hey… Let me cook…" the person muttered, taking hold of the spatula. Of course, the person hugging Hinata from behind was Sasori. She turned dark red as she remembered her dream. "U-Um… Wh-Why?" she asked, frozen stiff. "Deidara told me to cook today. We're giving you a break today, starting with me and breakfast." Sasori got off of her.

Hinata sighed. "Y-You guys don't have to! I-I don't need a break! Really! I can do it!" Sasori smirked at her. "Can you do it with me?" he laughed at her embarrassed expression. "Alright. Today we have the day off from school. So just go ahead and rest up." Hinata thought for a second. "O-Okay, but… Call me down for breakfast, alright?" she said, walking out of the room. "Yep."

Sasori watched as she walked up the stairs. "Alrighty then, now commencing plan 'Breakfast in Bed'…"

-:- Akatsuki Childhood Special -:-

Disclaimer: The terms and people in this section are not owned by me :D

"Hey. You guys are now a full squadron. Here's your last person: Itachi Uchiha." One of the adults there guided Itachi (age 9) to Pein's group in the classroom. Itachi looked around until finally Deidara caught his eye. "Deidara?" he said, a little surprised. Deidara grinned widely. "Itachi! How've ya been?" he asked happily. He was more happy to see him there than why or how he did.

Itachi sat beside him. "What's up with this place? It's so weird." He asked. "Uh… this is Akatsuki Academy! You see, we're divided into groups of about nine or ten, and then we go on different adventures and stuff! It's way better than ordinary school!" Deidara grinned. "That makes no sense. School is bad no matter where you are." Itachi scoffed. "Yeah, school was meant to suck, whether it's the teachers or the lunch."

"Yeah but… I kinda like the food here. I mean, it's pretty good, y'know?" Zetsu said. "Yeah, and Ms. Eve is nice too. She's cool, actually." Hidan said. "Yeah, but then Mr. Karasuma doesn't talk much, and when he does we can barely hear him." Kakuzu leaned back in his seat.

As a teacher walked by them, Pein shouted, "But Ms. Yukari is the best!" the teacher smiled at them and continued on her way.

"Dear god, what was that?" Hidan asked. "Ms. Yukari was right there, what was I supposed to say!?" Pein said angrily. Konan laughed.

Class was starting so everyone had to get back to their seats (or the teacher would kill them). "Everyone choose a partner! We're taking a field trip to the mist village today!" Ms. Yukari said.

Itachi turned around in his seat to ask Deidara to be his partner, but this red-haired kid beat him to it. _Okay… nevermind._ He looked to the other people in his own group, but the only ones left were a plant guy and a fish guy. _What wonderful choices…_ Itachi thought sarcastically.

"Hey, Itachi." Zetsu said. Itachi looked up at the plant, a little confused as to which eye to look into. "Go ahead and pick Kisame. I work better alone anyway." Zetsu nodded over to Kisame. "Uh… Alright." Itachi nodded and walked over to Kisame.

"Hello. I'm Itachi Uchiha." Itachi introduced himself. "Kisame Hoshigaki." Kisame muttered. Suddenly, the background became like something out of a shojo manga (well, Deidara was watching the whole thing, so of course it's some kind of manga position).

"We're going now, Pein's group." Yukari called. "Yeah!" Pein said, jumping off the desk he was sitting in. "Shall we?" Pein held out his arm to link his with Konan's. "We will do no such thing." She said boredly, walking past Pein, ignoring his arm. "That's cold…"

Deidara was constantly glancing over at Itachi. He often noticed that the two barely talked. They were totally different, yet they somehow looked like they got along well. In fact, everyone in his group that had a partner looked like the two got along well. Heck, even _he_ had a partner he got along with. Well, everyone except Pein and Konan. _Don't worry, Pein! I'm cheering you on! _Deidara mentally cheered.

Almost as if he heard him, Pein walked up to Konan and held her hand. She didn't protest much, in fact, she let their fingers interlace. Deidara smiled. _Cool. Now I gotta find myself a girlfriend._ He looked around, then realized that Konan was basically the only girl in the whole classroom.

Sasori, however, was focusing on something different. He was thinking about how weird this school wall. The Akatsuki school uniform isn't given to you on the first day, not even the first week. They give it to you when you least expect it. When he got it, it was thrown at his face, knocking him on the ground. It wasn't even folded. It just blinded him for a minute, and he tripped on a side table in the hall.

He turned to Deidara. "Hey, Deidara?" he started. "Whut?" Deidara had a lazy look in his eye. "How did they give you your uniform?" Sasori asked. "Whaddaya mean? They gave it to me when I got here, of course." Deidara said. Sasori had an unreadable expression on his face. But it somewhat resembled anger. _They… They threw it at me for no reason!?_

Pein, somebody totally different from Itachi, Kisame, Deidara, and Sasori, was grinning like a madman. He squeezed Konan's hand once. She looked at him, almost laughing at the stupid look on his face. "What's up with you?" she asked. "I like you a lot. That's what." Pein said in a stupid tone. Konan laughed a little then. "I like you too. A lot." She said. Pein's grin, if possible, grew wider.

As the class made it to the mist village, Kisame looked a little happier.

"Itachi, this is my hometown!" he said happily. "Cool. That means my hometown is about a million miles from here." Itachi said indifferently. "Oh." Kisame was let down a bit.

"But that doesn't mean I liked it there. Everyone was… too friendly. The only one I really hung out with was Deidara and his family. Oh, and my younger brother." Itachi said, almost trying to cheer Kisame up.

"Tell me about your 'lil bro." Kisame said. "He's… annoying. That's the only thing he was. He always hung out with the girl I like –I almost hate him." Itachi huffed. "Oh, the girl you like?" Kisame half-laughed. "Who's she? He asked. "She's… Deidara's younger sister. She's the cutest little thing in the world, I swear to god. She's polite, she doesn't hate anybody, even though she's supposed to… and she's fragile. Like if you so much as touch her, she might break. She's so confusing to me, I have nothing to describe my feelings for her. So I call it love."

"Well, that's not really nothing, now is it?" Kisame grinned. "No, I guess not." Itachi agreed. "You think your brother's with her right now?" Kisame asked. "He'd better not!" For once, Kisame saw Itachi act like a regular troublemaking boy.

"Okay, here are the rules! If you once lived here, you cannot –I repeat, _cannot_ go see your friends! If you're caught, deal with it. Akatsuki Academy will not take responsibility for your stupid crap! And, lastly, be back here by noon for lunch." Yukari called. Everyone agreed, and immediately dispersed throughout the village.

-:-

Yukari from Azumanga Daioh… an Akatsuki… pfft…

Ms. Eve is from Black Cat, (only known as Eve). She's… cool, I guess.

And Mr. Karasuma is from School Rumble. Yay school rumble.

P.S. Happy Valentine's Day!

P.S.S. I'll probably write a (horribly) late Valentine's Day Special :D


	10. Deidara nii san

Oh gosh, sorry, so sorry for the terribly long wait for this chapter… you see, we had to get a new NEW computer and now all my files are someplace else… I started this chapter over and all and BLAHBLAHBLAHBLAHBLAHBLAHBLAH!!! Finals are coming up too so… crap.

-:-

Sasori carried a tray full of food up the stairs and to Hinata's room. Slowly he opened the door and smiled when she didn't notice him coming in. She was currently engrossed in a certain manga book called BLEACH (cough, by Tite Kubo), smiling at Ikkaku's Lucky dance. Sasori quietly placed the tray on the desk and sat down in the chair, just staring at her. Soon she finished the volume and closed, sighing contentedly.

"Hi." Sasori said. Hinata squeaked and turned around, tangling herself in her blanket. "S-S-Sasori! H-Hello!" she stuttered, turning red. "What a reaction. Weren't you expecting me to come here?" Sasori laughed a little. "W-Well…" Hinata calmed down a bit. "Forget about it." She murmured, lying face down on her pillow. "Breakfast is served."

Sasori put a tray in Hinata's lap. "Ah… Th-Thanks… B-But this wasn't really necessary! I can eat at the table with you guys!" Sasori shook his head. "A princess gets the royal treatment of breakfast in bed. That's that." He said, kissing her on the cheek. "Today you can just take a break." He added, walking out of the room. "If you need anything, call someone else."

_Hmph! That guy! He makes me breakfast and then suddenly gives me the cold treatment of 'don't bother me!' _in spite of her annoyance, she began eating. When she was done, she walked down to the kitchen with the tray to put it in the sink. "I'm taking a shower now." She told Sasori, who was sitting at the table. "Wanna take it with me?" he asked, smiling. "No." Hinata continued up the stairs and towards the bathroom.

When she came finished with her bath, she walked back to her room to change. But a sudden rush of a bad feeling came over her. It was no surprise that that surprise was Sasori, who was sitting at her desk. Hinata noticeably grimaced. "What? Aren't you gonna change?" he asked, smirking. "Not in front of you!" Hinata half-yelled. "Aw, why not?" Sasori laughed. "Why should I!?" Hinata quickly grabbed a pair of underwear, a bra, and a random shirt with shorts and stormed out of the room.

However, for some reason, Sasori already beat her to the bathroom. He was sitting on the counter, waiting for her. "Hi. Didn't expect to see you here." He waved. Hinata gave out an aggravated sigh before closing the door and walking back to her room. He couldn't possibly beat her back to her room without her hearing the door open.

"Oi… Hinata-chaan… is there anything I can do for you…?" Deidara was half-sleeping in her bed for some random reason. "Ah… D-Deidara-nii-san! U-Um… P-Please keep watch for Sasori while I change, okay?" Hinata said softly, trying not to wake the half-sleeping Deidara. "Haai…" he rolled to his side, facing the door. Hinata dropped her towel to the floor, quickly slipping on her underwear, shorts, her bra (somehow) and quickly snapping on her shirt. Heaving a long and heavy sigh, she rolled on her back and spread her arms onto the floor. "They're huge, Hinata-chan." Deidara commented. "EH!?" Hinata turned dark red. "Wh-What's huge!?" she asked. Did he see…?

"The posters on your door. They're huge." Deidara laughed a bit. "Why? What'd you think I said?" he asked. 'I thought you saw me changing… ahaha… Silly me, huh?" Hinata laughed awkwardly. "Oh, I saw you changing too." Deidara said calmly. "Wh-Wh-Wha-" Hinata stuttered. "But I wouldn't dare make a move on you naked unless you were officially mine, so don't worry."

There was a moment of awkward silence between them. "Deidara-nii-san…" Deidara made a small grunt to show that he was listening. "What were you doing in my room anyway?" Hinata by now had scooted to the edge of the bed, close to Deidara's face. "I wanted to say good morning, but you weren't there at the second, so I decided to keep your bed warm." Deidara grinned. "Hey, can I kiss you yet?" he asked. Hinata turned red. "M-Maybe next time." She said. "Aw… okay…" Deidara looked like a disappointed child for a moment.

Deidara and Hinata stared into each other's eyes for a long time. Without knowing, they were slowly inching closer to each other. It wasn't until their noses bumped into each other that they realized what they were doing. "Ah! I-I'm sorry! Um… Hey, it's almost time for… something!"Hinata backed away, waving her arms dismissively in the air. "Yeah, something's coming up, and we can't miss it! I'll go get ready for something right now." Deidara hopped off of Hinata's bed, his face turning dark red.

_That was weird._ Hinata thought, turning a light shade of pink.

-:-

"It's been almost a month since Deidara left to kill that girl…" Konan said to Pein over a cup of coffee. "I know… maybe he's slacking off. I sent Sasori out to get him, but he hasn't come back either." He gulped down the rest of his drink and put it back on the table. "Well, how many missions did you give him to finish? Deidara, I mean." Konan asked. "I dunno… like 200? 250?" Pein said calmly. Konan only nodded.

"Maybe they fell in love." She said. Pein laughed. "Deidara and Sasori? An unlikely couple and I know for a fact that… Sasori isn't gay." Konan sighed. "I _meant_ that Deidara and Sasori fell in love with a _girl._ Not each other." Pein's laughing stopped. "And I don't think Deidara's gay." She added. "Though, it'd be a problem if the girl they fall in love with were the girl Deidara was supposed to kill."

There was a moment of silence between them. "Yes it would be." Konan agreed.

"Hey, I have an idea: Let's go see if she's still alive, huh?" Pein said, grinning. "Hm." Konan nodded.

-:-

Hinata's day was excruciatingly boring. The guys had taken care of laundry, cleaning, and cooking, leaving her with nothing to do. And that wasn't a usual exaggeration, either. Nothing to do, nothing to read, clean, cook, fix, get ready for… making the occasional trip to the bathroom was the most exciting thing to do.

Sighing, she closed the book she was reading for the sixth time and rolled onto her back. She stared at the ceiling for a while before someone knocked on the door. Neji walked in and sat on the chair at her desk. "Hey." He said. "How's it going?" he glanced at her before looking at how clean the desk was. She really had nothing to do, huh?

"Bored." Hinata sighed. "Why? You have tons of free time now." Neji asked. "Well, in my free time, I'd clean, cook, and do everything else that I'm not doing today. And in my free, free time, I'd like to spend it with you guys, but you're busy doing the things that I should be doing and blah, blah, blah." Hinata rolled around for lack of better words. Neji laughed. She hadn't heard him laugh in a while.

"Sorry. We just thought you needed a break from everything. Well, me and Sasori did. Deidara just wanted to see the look on your face." Hinata laughed this time. "Can I be back on duty tomorrow?" She asked. Neji ruffled her hair. "Why not? You cook better than Sasori anyway." Hinata giggled at the comment.

Neji got up and left the room again. "I just came to check up on you. See ya later." Hinata nodded. "Yeah…" And, she was bored again. And lonely. At times like these, she wished Sasori would just burst in and start bothering her, just for something to do.

Holding her breath, she waited for something huge to happen. But, no such luck, and she ended up just letting out the air in a long and desperate sigh. Another hour of boredom.

-:-

Soon, dinner came, and after that, nothing different from what she was doing the whole day: sleeping.

Almost expectedly, Sasori snuck into her room, slowly and silently crawling into Hinata's bed and wrapping his arms around her. He frowned when he got no reaction. "I know you're awake." He whispered in her ear. "Hm." She muttered. "Aw… where's that cute reaction I always get from you?" His hands traveled up her shirt, but didn't touch anything.

Hinata turned around and hugged Sasori, taking him by surprise. "I was _so_ bored today. Don't you _ever_ think that I need a day off." She said, her face buried in his chest. Sasori only hugged her tighter. "Yeah, yeah." The two stayed like that for a while until Hinata fell asleep in his arms.

Deidara walked by and noticed immediately that Sasori was in bed with Hinata. Suspicious, he silently walked in glaring at the two, mostly at the red head. "What?" Sasori growled. "What're you doing here? Don't you have missions to take care of?" Deidara asked angrily. "Jealous much?" Sasori chuckled.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I am." Deidara tried pulling Sasori out of bed, but stopped when he heard a small whimpering sound. Hinata was reaching out towards Sasori, as if she were terribly scared or lonely. Sasori smirked. "Put me down, she wants me." Reluctantly, Deidara let him go back to Hinata.

"Tch." He backed out of the room, a disgusted feeling coming over him. "Fine." Extremely let down, he walked out of the house, off to finish the last of his missions, the very last one back in his room. At first he thought that killing her would be very difficult. But now his feelings of anger and frustration said otherwise.

When he came back, it was already close to six. He checked up on Sasori and Hinata and was semi-relieved that he didn't try anything. But now he was tired. He decided to just skip school today. When Neji asked why, Deidara didn't say anything and went back to his room. Hinata gave a worried look as she left out the door for school.

The second he heard the door close, Deidara let out a loud yell. Not only did he see Hinata break his heart, he had narrowed all of his assassination missions down to her. He was cursing himself for actually wanting to kill the love of his life.

No.

He's only become soft. Killing was his job, so what was he getting so worked up about?

Tonight. Tonight he'd finish his job and take him and Sasori back to Akatsuki. He's been here for almost a month now anyway. It was time to go back.

-:-

All through school, Hinata was wondering why Deidara decided to skip today. She didn't pay attention at all, and when the teacher called on her, the silence drove the teacher to call on someone else. At lunch Sasori had to actually hold her hand so that she wouldn't bump into anyone. Today just wasn't her day, was it?

Finally, the time came for them to go home. Sasori whacked her head. "Ah!" Hinata fell forward, but Neji caught her. "Wh… Wha?" She rubbed her head. "What is _up_ with you today?" Sasori asked, annoyed. "S… Sorry… I completely zoned out today…" Hinata answered, leaning on Neji for support. "I'll say. I had to hold your hand to the lunchroom so that you wouldn't hurt yourself!" Sasori yelled.

"I'm sorry… it's just that… Deidara-nii-san looked so… so sad this morning… do you know why?" Hinata asked. _Maybe it was from last night…_ Sasori looked away for a second. "No idea." He lied. Hinata looked down. "Oh… Okay…"

When they got home, Hinata walked up to Deidara's room to check on him. He was sleeping, face down and an angry expression visible. _Is he okay?_ She leaned close to him, trying to see if anything was wrong. Unfortunately, she didn't see anything. Turning back to the door, she felt something grab her arm. "Hinata." Deidara murmured. "Y-Yes?" Hinata turned slightly. "Can I see you tonight?" he asked, his face still in his pillow, but only one eye was showing. It was glaring at her. "Um… S-Sure." Hinata nodded. "Good."

Deidara let his hand slide down to her hand before it hung over the edge of his bed. "You can go…" he said. Hinata stared at him for a little bit before leaving. _Something's definitely wrong…_ she thought.

--

At dinner, Deidara didn't come down. Hinata was still extremely worried, so she decided to go and take his dinner up to him. She knocked on his door twice before letting herself in. "Deidara-nii-san… dinner is ready…" Deidara turned around. He was packing a bag full of his stuff. "Deidara-nii-san…?"

_Shit…_ Deidara cursed himself for letting her see him pack. "Wh… Where are you going?" Hinata walked over to him, setting the food on the desk. "Nowhere…" Deidara muttered. "Then why are you packing your bags?" Deidara stayed silent. Hinata put a hand on his shoulder. "You're going back to Akatsuki?" she asked.

Deidara shoved her arm away, pushing her out of his room. "I'll talk to you tonight." He said, closing the door.

--

"What? You're going to meet Deidara tonight?" Sasori asked. Hinata pulled him out of dinner and practically dragged him to her room. Nodding, Hinata paced back and forth across the room. "But just a few minutes ago, I saw him packing his bags. I think he's going back to Akatsuki, but I don't know for sure. I want to ask him, but I think he's mad at me, and I don't know why! What did I do to make him so mad?" Sasori took a moment to register the things she said in his mind.

"You chose me over him last night." He said. Hinata stopped. "Huh?" Sasori pushed Hinata onto the bed and wrapped his arms around her. "Okay. I snuck into your room last night, wrapped my arms around you like so," Sasori did as he said. "And you hugged me back." He made Hinata's arms go around him. "Then, when you fell asleep, Deidara pulled me away from you, you started wanting me back." Hinata turned red.

"And believe me, I was soo happy that you did. I mean, I've waited so long for you to actually hug me, haha…" Sasori laughed. "Um…" Hinata started. Sasori's laughing faded. "Hm?" Hinata moved her arms to her side. "I-I was just… cold… I wasn't choosing between you two… I wasn't used to the sudden coldness that you left, so I called for something warm."

Sasori hugged her tighter. "I don't care. To me, you wanted me. You can tell Deidara that you were cold, though." He said, kissing her head. "…Okay…" Hinata managed to roll out of his hug and get off the bed. "Thanks, Sasori." She smiled at him. "Yeah."

-:-

Deidara told Hinata to wait until everyone was asleep before they went out. They walked in silence until they were almost at the park. Then, Deidara just stopped. Hinata looked at him, a worried expression on her face. "Deidara-nii-san?" she said.

Suddenly, he pinned her against a tree, his hands tightly gripping her shoulders. "Th-That… hurts." Hinata said, glancing up at him. "I'm mad." Deidara stared into her eyes. Hinata nodded. "I'm mad at you… and me. You because of last night, and… for turning me into a

softie." He let his hands run down her arms. "I'm mad at myself because… I love you. And because I'm hating you at the same time."

He leaned in closer to her. "And…" He kissed her, slipping his tongue in when she gasped. He let his tongue play with hers a little before parting for air. He kissed her again, reaching for a kunai from his jacket. He stopped kissing her. "For this." He stabbed Hinata once in the stomach, letting her fall to the ground.

"D-Deidara-nii-san…!" she placed a hand on her stomach, trying to stop the bleeding. Deidara began to walk away, but Hinata grabbed his arm. "W-Wai…" Gritting his teeth, Deidara shoved his arm away from her, breaking into a run away from her. Hinata's vision began to fade. She felt someone coming, but wasn't able to see who it was.

_Deidara-nii-san… come back…_

-:- Akatsuki Childhood Special pt. 2 (?) -:-

Deidara (age 10) grinned as the last of the Mist Village Ninja fell to the ground dead. "That takes care of that… they should be ashamed, being beaten by an eight year old kid!" he laughed. Sasori stared at the ninja on the ground. "Are they going to be okay?" he asked. "Probably not. But that's not my problem now, huh?" Deidara began walking away. "Yuck. I got blood in my hair…"

Sasori quickly followed. "Then… you killed them?" he inquired, scared to turn around to look. "Basically." Deidara walked over beside a lake and began washing his hair. It wasn't a complicated process, just pouring water over your head and the blood was gone. "'When you're in Akatsuki, you shouldn't be afraid to kill.' That's what the rulebook said." Deidara quoted, looking back at Sasori. "I… I'm not afraid of killing!" he lied.

Deidara stared at him for a while, completely still. "You're lying." He stated. Sasori looked down. "It's okay, though. I was afraid of killing before. You'll get over it. No wait… you'll get used to it." Sasori didn't completely understand. "You'll get used to being scared of killing. Soon it won't bother you as much."

They sat there in silence for a while. Deidara got up. "Well, let's go explore the village, okay?" he smiled, helping Sasori to his feet. "Yeah…" the two began walking towards the town.

-:-

"Hey, Kakuzu! Lookie here!" Hidan waved at Kakuzu from across the street, staring at a piece of jewelry through a window. "What?" Kakuzu glanced at the necklace Hidan was staring at. "Buy this for me!" he demanded. "Are you kidding me!? That thing costs a gazillion dollars!" Kakuzu protested, folding his arms across his chest.

Hidan glared at him. "But that's the only Jashin necklace I've seen anywhere! I _must_ have it!" he yelled. "Ja-what?"Kakuzu asked. "_JASHIN_! He's the god of my religion!" Hidan broke the glass and grabbed the necklace. "Hey! You can't do that!" the store clerk yelled at them. "Great job, Hidan." Kakuzu said sarcastically, following Hidan as they ran away.

"Hey, it's your fault that you didn't buy it!" Hidan shouted, hiding in an alley to get away from the police. Amazingly, it worked. "Cool." Hidan wrapped the necklace around his neck, grinning. "Now I'm not allowed to take it off!" he said proudly. "That's disgusting." Kakuzu commented.

-:-

"Konan! Look what I got you! Necklace!"

"Pein…"

"Hey, look! I got you a book on origami!"

"Pein."

"Oh! You'll love this, I got you a tea party set: Madeline deluxe set!"

"Pein!

"Look, I got you the latest Linkin Park CD!"

Pein kept throwing useless gifts into Konan's arms. "PEIN!!" Pein stopped suddenly, putting down the Plasma screen TV (Sony, Complete with speakers and remote control). "What? You want it in a bigger size?" Pein asked. Konan carefully set everything he gave her onto the ground. "No, I don't want it at all!" she said.

Grinning, Pein said, "Okay, I'll get you a computer instead!" He was about to run to the computer store when Konan grabbed him by the collar. "No, I have enough things to take home. Where are you getting all this, anyway?" she asked. "I steal it. Why?"

"Stealing's a crime." Konan said. "…So?" Pein laughed. "I'm just really happy that you like me, Konan! Can you blame me?" he asked. "I can't. The police can." Konan shrugged. "Oh well. That's what they teach us in school these days."

Pein smiled, about to go out to steal more gifts for Konan, but she stopped him again. "No. I can't carry any more." She said. "Now help me get all this crap back to the bus."

-:-

Kisame had led Itachi back to his old house. It was completely empty, devoid of all furniture, and the windows were covered with cloth. He walked towards his room and was surprised to see it all the same.

"Wow. My parents suck." He said. He walked over to his bookshelf and picked out a Fullmetal Alchemist book. Opening it, he quickly scanned the pages and closed it. "Okay, I know what to do now." He pushed Itachi out of his house as he went back inside. He came back with a pack of matches.

"Kisame… What are you doing?" Itachi asked. "Trust me, I saw it in manga." Kisame lit the match and threw it into the house, watching it instantly catch on fire. "Ack!" Itachi backed

away. "Cool, right?" Kisame laughed. "…You're burning your own house down." Itachi said. Kisame nodded. "Uh huh."

"Just what kind of manga does this!?"

(Cough, that would be Fullmetal Alchemist, by Hiromu Arakawa)

-:-

Zetsu watched his teammates scurry across the village from a nearby tree. And, from his observations, they were making a complete mess of everything. Deidara killed a whole squadron from the police, Pein stole from 20 different stores, Kisame and Itachi burned down a house, and Hidan and Kakuzu stole a necklace from a jewelry store. _It was going to be interesting working with these guys…_ he thought.

-:-

When everyone came back for lunch, Yukari yelled at Pein for getting so much stuff. Pein just answered, "But Yukari-sensei, the power of LOVE compels me!" that earned him a whack on the face.

When Yukari heard all the destruction Pein's team caused, they were forced to go back to the academy.

"So let me get this straight: Pein, you stole stuff from every store in The Mist Village, Itachi and Kisame burned down a house, Deidara and Sasori killed a bunch of police Ninja, Hidan stole a very valuable necklace from a jewelry store, and Zetsu didn't do anything." Yukari said. Pein's team nodded. Letting out an aggravated sigh, Yukari rubbed the place in between her eyes. "You're all suspended until further notice. Now get out of my sight!"

She whacked a meter stick on the wall, making everybody leave in an instant. "Honestly, those kids…" she sighed.

-:-

Okay… lots happened and lots is going to happen… :D I'll be updating now, so look forward to that!


	11. Hinata Senses

-:- The next Day -:-

Hinata woke with a start. She looked around her and saw that she was in a hospital room. Neji was asleep in the chair beside her. She tried sitting up, but stopped when she felt a sharp pain in her stomach. Lightly, she touched the sore spot and recalled last night. "Deidara-nii-san…" she whispered, feeling a stream of tears coming to her eyes. 

A hand touched her face. She turned slightly and saw that it was Sasori giving her a worried look. "I'm sorry…" he whispered. It wasn't until he wrapped his arms around her that she realized that he was in the same bed as she was. "I couldn't get to you fast enough. By the time I got there you were already…" Hinata wrapped one arm around him. "Wh… What happened?" she asked. "I'll tell you later. Neji's waking up." 

Neji sat up, letting out a small gasp when he saw that Hinata was awake. "Hinata!" He jumped up and hugged her without thinking. "God, what happened to you? Who did this?" he yelled. Hinata laughed a bit. "Neji-nii-san… calm down." She said. Neji did as he was told, sitting back down in the chair he was sitting in. There was a terribly awkward silence after that.

"Hey, Neji." Sasori started. "Can I talk to Hinata alone for a while?" he asked. Neji hesitantly nodded and left the room. 

The second the door closed, Sasori sat at the foot of the bed, staring at Hinata. 

"Okay. I'll tell you what happened last night." 

-:- Sasori Point of View -:-

I didn't notice that you were gone until Pein –He's the Akatsuki leader- paid a visit late in the night. He asked,

"Hey, when are you guys coming back home?" 

I was seriously confused, I mean, my boss just comes to the house and asks when we're going back. So anyway, I check to see if Deidara was in his room, and he wasn't. I checked in your room, but you weren't there either. When I told the leader that neither of you were there, he said something that got me worried to my stomach. 

"Oh, if he's gone then maybe he's already finishing the job." The second he left, I made a run for it to look for you two. My Hinata senses were telling me that you were at the park.

Hinata: 'Hinata senses'?

Sasori: Yup. I love you that much. 

Hinata: -blush-

So anyway, By the time I made it to the park, Deidara had already stabbed you and taken off. I was a little panicked seeing you on the ground as a bloody mess, so I took you here to the hospital. I called Neji once I knew what room you were in. Still being the super-awesome-worried-sick person I was then, I stayed with you the entire night. 

But I gotta say… the thing he did before stabbing you was UNFORGIVEABLE! He practically _made out_ with you! He stole your first –_and second _– kiss! I wanted to be your first kiss! Now I have to be your first… 

The point is, I heard that Deidara got a mission to kill you, I try to save you, didn't make it, and took you to the hospital instead. But what I'm wondering is, why he did try kill you.

Hinata: 'Try' to?"

In Akatsuki, you're required to know all the vital spots in the human body. I think that he couldn't directly kill you, so he purposely missed an important place in your body. 

Hinata: -nods-

-:-

"So now that I know you've had your first kiss… It should be okay to kiss you now, huh?" Sasori leaned in closer, ignoring the soft protests from Hinata. She was still trying to remember Deidara kissing her –it was too soon for another kiss! Unfortunately, she didn't get the time to make her thoughts into words, because Sasori's lips were already pressed against hers. Without warning, he slipped his tongue into her mouth briefly before parting for air. 

"Mm…That felt good, didn't it?" he chuckled a little bit. Hinata touched her lips. "You have _no_ idea how long I've waited to do that. Well, you probably do, since we met only about a few weeks or so ago, but you get the idea." He noticed her touching her lips and smirked. "Did you like it?" he asked. Hinata turned dark red, nodding. Sasori was about to kiss her again, but she stopped him. 

"B…But… D-Deidara-nii-san's kiss… felt the same…" 

Sasori frowned. "Really now?" he murmured, getting off the bed. "Ah! W-Wait!" Hinata squeaked. "I-I hurt your feelings! Y-You wouldn't try to kill me, w-would you?" She asked. Sasori cracked a smile at her. "I wouldn't even think about it." He said, telling Neji that he could come back in. 

As Neji entered the room, Sasori said, "She tastes good." Catching Neji off guard. Still, he continued towards Hinata. 

"D-Did he kiss you?" he asked, panicked. Hinata nodded, and Neji suddenly felt himself falling into a large pit of despair. But she caught his hand and pulled him back. "U-Um… D-Deidara-nii-san was my f-first kiss… Sasori was my third… I-If you feel left out… y-you can… k-kiss me too…" Neji blushed. "N-No, I-I couldn't possibly…" Still, he leaned down and gave her a small peck on the lips. He turned an extremely dark red. 

There was a short and awkward silence between them. "H-How are you feeling?" Neji asked. "Good, actually, aside from my stomach." Hinata laughed a bit. Neji smiled, taking her hand in his. "Hinata I… You have no idea how worried I've been. I was afraid… that I would lose you." He gripped her hand tightly. "I know you're stronger that a small poke to the stomach, but still…" 

Hinata pulled him into a hug. "It's okay. I'm not going anywhere." She said. Neji immediately wrapped his arms around her tightly. "Good." He whispered. 

Suddenly, the two least expected people burst into the room: Ino Yamanaka and Shikamaru Nara. 

"Hinata! Are you alright? What happened?" Ino ran to Hinata's side. "I-Ino-chan!" Hinata let Neji go. "You look absolutely terrible! Who did this to you?" Ino gripped her hand tightly. "U-Um…" 

"How did you guys know I was here?" she asked. "I saw Sasori outside the hospital and asked what was up." Shikamaru answered. "Oh…" Hinata smiled. "Thank you guys for coming. You didn't have to visit though, I should be back at school soon." She said. "No, no! Take your sweet time! Nothing interesting happens at school!" Ino laughed. Hinata nodded. 

"Oh, snap, is it that time already? Shika! We're going to be late!" Ino began running towards the door, almost running Sasori over. Shikamaru walked up to Hinata. "We're going out now, you know." He said, grinning. "Oh! C-Congratulations! I'm so happy for you two!" Hinata smiled. "We're gonna go see a movie, and we're actually pretty early." He heard Ino yelling his name down the hall. "She can be bitchy at times, but I'm glad I have her. Feel better soon, okay?" Shikamaru left as well, telling Ino to be quiet and reminded her that they were in a hospital.

-:-

Deidara walked up to the gates of the Akatsuki base, sighing tiredly. He opened the door slowly and stopped when he heard his name being called. 

"Hey! See, I told you he'd beat us here! Didn't I, Konan?" Pein waved at Deidara happily. "Oh. Where's Sasori?" Konan asked. Deidara shook his head. "Leader, being the workzilla he is, gave him a little too much work to finish. He won't be back in a while." He said, walking into the base. "Oh… Well, he has a few days then. I gave him about the same amount of work I gave you." Pein shrugged. 

"Hola! We're back!" he shouted, earning a disappointed mutter from Hidan. Suddenly, a briefcase was chucked across the room, somehow in the general direction of the Jashinist. "I thought you'd all be happy to see me!" Pein smiled evilly. He looked up when he heard a door slam upstairs. Deidara was no longer in the room. 

--

Deidara carelessly threw the bag he had full of clothes beside the bed, ignoring the fact that it somehow unzipped itself open and slipped out a picture of Hinata at his feet. Growling, he tore up the picture and threw the pieces up into the air. Unfortunately, gravity was something the Akatsuki could afford. As he 

lay down on his bed, the pieces of the picture fell on top of him, a still complete part of the picture –the face, to be precise- fluttering onto his face. 

Cursing, he brushed the ripped pieces away, then turned to his side. "Dammit…" He just remembered that he had a framed picture of Hinata on his side table. But he couldn't rip it, that was the last picture he had of her. So instead he just had the picture face down. Just like the picture, Deidara decided to sleep face down on his bed. 

Still, he couldn't help but think about what he did. He stole her first kiss. _I know she liked it…_ he thought, huffing. He decided to avoid bringing up the fact that he just left her there to bleed. _Maybe someone found her already. She's probably receiving flowers in her hospital room, forgetting all about me and what happened. _Mentally shaking his head, he told himself that it was pointless to beat himself up like that. 

He sighed and decided to just go to sleep. 

-:-

A few days later, Hinata's wound healed over enough for her to go back to school. After all that's happened, school was even more boring than it was before. The only thing exciting was the dance that she knew for a fact no one would ask her to attend. Sighing, she looked around the classroom, bored. Sasori was doing the same thing until both their eyes met. He smiled at her briefly before turning away. 

After class, Hinata noticed that nearly every inch of the bulletin boards were filled with posters about the dance. She also noticed that almost everyone who was anyone had a date to the dance. In truth, she felt a little left out. She was running through her mind who would ever think about asking her to the dance, and only one person came to mind: Sasori. 

She began to fidget and blush and other things that knew made her look shy. It wasn't on purpose, though. Sasori was standing right beside her, and she was currently waiting for him to just ask the question. But she quickly got over it when lunchtime came. Though, it still showed that she was a _little_ stressed out because of the fact that she got a mountain of food. 

Sasori didn't bother to buy himself lunch when he saw Hinata's huge pile of food. "Are you going to eat all that?" Neji asked. Hinata nodded, smiling. "Why not?" _Why should you?_ Neji thought anxiously. Hinata reached for a sandwich at the top of the pile, but Sasori walked over and grabbed it. "Hey! That was mine!" she said. "So what? You probably got a million more in that pile anyway." Sasori teased. 

"Hinata, I don't think that you need all that food…" Neji said worriedly. "Yes I do!" Hinata shouted. There was a sudden silence, and Hinata turned red. "I-I'm just stressed out, okay?" she grumbled, taking a bite out of a random piece of food from the pile. "About what? Maybe I can help." Neji offered. Hinata shook her head. "No, I'll just return all this food. Thanks anyway." 

Somehow, Hinata managed to put the food back in its rightful place. Somehow, the school day passed by quickly, and somehow, Neji had self defense practice that day after school. Which somehow left Sasori and Hinata to walk home alone.

However, the two stayed silent for almost half of the way until Hinata decided to ask something. 

"Sasori…" she started. Sasori glanced at her. "…When are you… supposed to go back to Akatsuki?" Hinata looked at him with an almost worried look. Sasori thought a moment. "Well… I don't really… want to go back…" he said. Hinata looked surprised. "I want to stay here. With you." Sasori smiled. "B-But… D-Don't you need to go back? What if they go to kill you?" Hinata gripped the sleeve of his jacket. "I love you way too much to care about that." Sasori wrapped an arm around her. 

"And plus… you taste too good to pass up." He tilted her head up and leaned close to her face. Hinata turned a dark red as she looked into his eyes. She felt his lips brush against hers. Sasori smirked. "Okay?" he leaned down and kissed her. Hinata gasped, giving him the opportunity to slip his tongue in. It was a short one though, they still had to get home. So he stopped and began walking. 

Hinata was a little bit behind him, still dark red from him kissing her. Sasori opened the door and let Hinata in first, then closed the door behind him.

Hinata was already on her way to her room to change and do her homework. Sasori quickly followed her, not making a single noise. The second she opened the door, he snuck in, soundless as ever until he locked the door behind him.

Hearing the small _ka-chak_ of the door lock, Hinata turned around and gasped when Sasori suddenly pinned her against the bed. He was on top of her, a smirk making its way on his face. "S-Sasori… Wh-What are you…" Sasori leaned down and kissed her passionately, beginning to unbutton her shirt. "You think I can kiss you and let you get away with it?" Sasori said, moving down to kiss her neck. "G-Get away?" 

By now he had her shirt off and was working on her skirt. When he touched her leg, Hinata finally got the hint. "W-Wait a second! I-I'm not… Y-You shouldn't-!" Sasori kissed her again. "I want you." He said. His hand tugged her skirt off, leaving her in only her underwear and bra. Hinata began whimpering. "S-Stop…" She said. To her relief, he did. He rolled off of her only to wrap his arms around her bare waist. 

"I wouldn't go as low as rape. But kissing is something I can go by." He said. "K-Kissing? What you did was _way _more than that!" Hinata shouted. "You freaking ripped my clothes off!" Sasori just kissed her again. "What I did was just kissing compared to what I'll do to you later." Hinata just turned her back to him. He smirked.

Hinata punched him when she felt him unhooking her bra. He thought it was worth it, though. 

A little later than 4:30, Neji came back home. "Hey! I'm home!" he called. "Oh, Hi Neji-nii-san." Hinata said, a little bit of annoyance in her voice. "…Did… something happen?" he asked. Sasori was sitting at the table, holding a bag of frozen vegetables to his face. "That was the second time you hit me. Both of 

them for such little things…" he sighed. "The first time was big. This time it was huge." Hinata growled. "They were huge alright…" Sasori laughed, dodging a spatula that was flying his way. 

"So, what do you want for dinner, Neji-nii-san?" Hinata asked, smiling. "Anything's fine, thanks." Neji headed up the stairs to change. The kitchen was silent, and Hinata felt Sasori undressing her with his eyes. "I want you." He said. "I know." Hinata felt an anger mark forming on her head. Neji came back and sensed an even more negative vibe than he did a few minutes ago. 

-:- Akatsuki Childhood Special pt 3 -:-

As the weeks passed, Kisame became more outgoing and confident, opening up a little more every day. Soon, he became the loudest kid in the academy (second to Deidara, of course). 

Also, as the weeks went by, Sasori became comfortable at the Akatsuki academy and his team. He hung out with Deidara less to find other friends, but Deidara didn't mind. 

Hidan and Kakuzu, despite their constant arguments, decided to have their own little system: Whenever Hidan's head _happened_ to get cut off, Kakuzu would sew it back on. And in return, Hidan promised to use his religion for money purposes (whatever they may be). It was a vague system, but they seemed to understand it, so what was the problem, right?

Pein and Konan shared their first kiss not long after the field trip to the Mist. Deidara laughed when he saw the leader act so funny in public. He was practically flying around everywhere, having a slight spaz attack whenever Konan walked by. She just smiled in response.

During the times that Sasori wasn't there, Deidara thought a lot about the sister he left behind at home. He missed her a lot. _A lot._ He kept a picture of her in his dresser, never taking it out until he was sure no one would suddenly burst in or interrupt his reminiscing. Sometimes he'd wonder if she ever used those pins he gave her. _I really hope she did._ He thought. 

-:- Three years later (like… when they were age ten or something) -:-

Hinata, who turned 10 not too long ago, was rummaging through her dresser, throwing out everything she deemed 'not two digit worthy'. She's been waiting to turn ten for a long time. (like a year or so XD). She felt so mature, being ten years old. 

Neji walked into the room and asked what she was doing. "I wanna be as mature as you are, Neji-nii-san! I'm getting rid of all my kid things!" Hinata announced proudly. "Well would you mind not throwing it all over _my_ bed?" Neji scooped all of Hinata's discarded clothes onto the floor. "Sorry." Hinata continued emptying out her drawer. She stopped when she felt a small box in the corner of the drawer. 

Neji gave her a worried look when she suddenly stopped. "Hinata?" he started. Hinata jumped a little. "Ah! S-Sorry! I'll clean that up right now! You can go ahead and… do stuff! Just not here, okay?" Hinata pushed Neji out of the room. "Hey! Wait a-!" She slammed the door closed and locked it. 

Hinata quickly grabbed the small box and opened it, feeling tears well up in her eyes. 

_Hinata, I know you almost never wear these, but I thought they looked good on you._

The two hair clips haven't moved at all since the last time she opened them. Carefully, she took one out and looked at it carefully. Her hair wasn't exactly long enough for her to be able to use it, but she remembered a dress that would match the two hair clips. Taking it out of her closet, she pressed it against her body, putting on the clips. It looked great! 

Hinata twirled around a few times, but stopped when she felt a tear roll down her cheek. She wiped her eyes and tried to act happy again, but acting was acting. She sat on her bed, letting the dress fall to the floor. Then she buried her face in her hands, crying. She wouldn't let herself sob, though. The door and walls weren't soundproof. 

When she was done, she wiped her eyes, trying to look natural enough so no one would worry. She unlocked the door and immediately Neji ran in. He wrapped his arms around her. "Next time, let me hug you when you cry." He said. Hinata started crying again, only this time hugging Neji as tightly as she could. "N-Neji-nii-san… I… I miss Deidara-nii-san!" She sobbed, clutching his shirt. Neji stayed like that until Hinata had completely stopped crying. 

"I miss him too." He said. He kissed her head. 

She thought she was completely over that, but apparently she wasn't. In fact, she tripped over it and was just now trying to get up. 

-:-

I feel like I'm on a roll today! I failed my math final, but who cares:D … D: I do… Oh well.


	12. My Kind of Thinking

Deidara decided to go back to Konoha for his week off. _Psh… 200 kills in a month and I only get a week off…_ he stopped. _199 kills in one month…_ It was almost sundown by the time he got there.

As he walked through town, he noticed that there was a poster on one of the school walls. It said 'Dance on Friday!' in big letters. _Huh… I left just in time to miss a dance…_ Hinata would've said no to him anyway. Next he passed by a small shop he recognized on the way home. It was a flower shop, owned by Hinata's friend, Ino and her family. 'Yamanaka Flower Shop'. Since it was open, he began walking towards that store.

Ino was talking to Shikamaru from behind the counter, glancing at Deidara for a second. "Hey, you're Hinata's… brother, right?" she asked, smiling. "Hm." Deidara grumbled, looking at the flowers with non-existent interest. "How much for just one flower?" he asked. "Depends, what kind of flower do you want?" Ino walked over to him. "Something… nice. I guess. I dunno."

Somehow, Ino knew just what he needed. "How 'bout… this?" Ino plucked a daisy from a pot and handed it to Deidara. "Daisies are a symbol of Innocence. Is that what makes you think of the girl you like?" Ino giggled. Deidara took the daisy in his hand and examined it carefully. "Sure. How much?" he asked. "Free for now, since its your first time coming here." Ino grinned. "Oh… Thanks then. I'll see you later then."

Deidara walked out of the shop and began running towards his old house. He climbed the tree he used to climb to check up on Hinata every few days when he first joined Akatsuki. Making sure it was Hinata's room, he gently laid the daisy on her windowsill and jumped down from the tree.

Looking up, he noticed that his room was reachable from the tree. Since he had no other place to go, he decided to sneak into his room and just keep the door locked. It'd be like his own vacation home… in the form of a small room in the house. _Better than nothing…_ he thought positively. He quietly put the bag on the bed, walking over to the door to lock it. Then, he looked around the room and saw how much it hasn't changed since he left.

He lay down on the bed and sighed. _Cool. All set._

_(Next Morning)_

Deidara woke up the next morning to Hinata's alarm clock. …Hinata's alarm clock. _Hinata's_.

He sat straight up. Was his room really beside Hinata's? He didn't know that! And he didn't know that Hinata woke up so early. Falling back asleep, he heard his stomach growling. Changing into different clothes, he got up and left through the window.

Looking up to Hinata's room, he noticed that the daisy he left there last night was gone.

Smiling, he walked through town to find a cheap place to eat food. But, early as it was, very few stores were open. And the ones that _were_ open had food that literally tasted like crap.



But also, being as early as it was, Hinata was very gullible and out of it. He ran back to the house and opened the window at the sink.

"Hinata-chan, can you make me a small ramen bowl please?" he asked, sounding like a customer at a restaurant. Hinata turned around and saluted. "Coming right up, sir!" she said, sleepiness still in her voice. In a few minutes, the bowl was sitting on the windowsill, Deidara eying it hungrily. "Thank you very much." He said happily, drinking it down in one slurp. "Thank _you_, sir! Please come again!" Hinata bowed. Deidara laughed. "I will. Good-bye!" he waved and calmly walked away.

_(What a fool)_

Hinata finally got a wake-up call when Sasori wrapped his arms around he waist. "Hey… Who were you talking to?" he asked groggily. "Uh… I… don't know. But I think I cooked him ramen…" Hinata rubbed her eyes. "_Him_?" Sasori frowned. Hinata nodded. He wrapped his arms around her tighter. "Don't cheat on me _now_, Hina-chan!" He started shaking her. "E-Eh!?"

_(Sighs, clearly annoyed)_

Without anything to do, Deidara decided to go back to his room. It was almost time for school, so maybe he'd go back for today. He was glad to find that his uniform was still in the closet. Quickly, he took a quick and somehow unnoticed shower, he changed into his uniform and jumped out the window again, walking to school early so he wouldn't run into Hinata and the other two.

Sighing, he saw Ino closing the shop, Shikamaru waiting for her. She saw him and waved. "Hey! You're Hinata's brother from yesterday!" she grinned. "Ah… Yeah. Thanks for the flower yesterday." Deidara said, smiling back.

"_So…_ Did she like it?" Ino asked him, trying not to get Shikamaru's attention. Deidara thought for a second. "I just left it on her windowsill and left. The morning after, it was gone. So I guess she liked it." He laughed a little. Ino turned back to Shikamaru. "Okay, then. See you at school!" she waved to Deidara, linked arms with Shikamaru and started walking with him to school.

Deidara went on his way as well. Though he felt something weird in both his hands. Holding them up, he never realized that he still had those bandages over the mouths on his hands. "U-Uh… Just one more week, guys…" he said awkwardly. He started to hurry when he heard Hinata and the other two walking towards him.

Eventually, he beat Neji to the classroom, but didn't realize that he sat beside Neji in the classroom. However, Neji didn't notice him when he came in.

"Hey, can I borrow a pen?" Neji asked. Deidara stiffened up. "Uh… Sorry… don't have one." He said. "Oh. That's okay." Neji went back to zoning out at his desk. Sighing, Deidara relaxed a little bit more. That is, until the teacher decided to take attendance.

Starting with the letter 'D'.



"Deidara."

What was he supposed to do? Answer and risk Neji finding out that he came back?

"H-Here…" Deidara whispered.

"…Dei_dara_?" _Stupid teacher! I'm freaking here! You know, the only one with freaking blonde hair!?_ Deidara glared at the teacher. "I'm right here!" he yelled. There was an awkward silence, then the teacher said, "Neji Hyuga."

Neji by now was glaring at Deidara. But Deidara didn't bother to look. "Here" He muttered. As the teacher went on with attendance, Neji leaned over to talk to Deidara.

"What the _hell_ are you doing here?" he asked angrily. Apparently he knew that Deidara was the one who hurt Hinata. "Going to school. What's it to you?" and maybe he didn't know that he was an Akatsuki (Sasori was nice enough to let that go by).

Neji let out a low growl and leaned back to his desk. Today was going to be a long day. No matter how long, he wouldn't let himself run into Hinata.

_(We'll see about that...)_

Sasori was the second one to spot Deidara. It was in the hallway towards the lunchroom.

"Hey!" Deidara turned slightly just in time to dodge a punch from Sasori. "What are you _doing_ here!?" he asked angrily. Deidara had a slightly smug look. "What does it look like? I'm going to school." Sasori glared at him. "I thought you went back to Akatsuki."

Deidara looked around. "I did. Now I'm on vacation." He said. "What kind of bullshit is that?" Sasori asked. "The leader promised me a week off if I completed all my missions. I did." Sasori hit his shoulder. "Hinata's still alive, you bastard." He growled. Deidara stayed silent.

"Sasori? You ready to get to…" Hinata was walking by, but saw Deidara standing there with Sasori. When they made eye contact, Deidara bolted down the hallway, expertly avoiding contact with anyone. "Ah! W-Wait- Deidara-nii-san!" Hinata started walking towards him, but Sasori grabbed her arm. "Let him go." He said. "B…But…"

Neji soon met up with them and asked what happened. "Did you know that Deidara was still attending school?" Sasori said. Neji nodded. "He was in the classroom. What do you think he's doing?" Sasori shook his head. He glanced at Hinata, who was glancing down the hallway that Deidara ran down, possibly looking for him. He gripped her arm tighter, slightly pulling her towards him. "I don't think he's planning anything. But… I'm not comfortable with him being here." Neji nodded in agreement.

Hinata gave up on her search. She let Sasori take her to the lunch room, even though she didn't feel like eating. Still, to make sure Neji and Sasori wouldn't worry, she ate.



Trying to take her mind off things, she thought about how nobody –not even Sasori- has asked her to the dance. She never thought she'd be one to worry about such a thing. Maybe it was because it was her very first dance. Ever. Sighing, she took another bite of her food. _It's nothing. I could just go with my friends…_

"Hey. What's eating you?" Sasori asked, poking her. "…The dance." Hinata muttered. Sasori was about to ask about Deidara, but decided against it. "What about it?" he asked. "Nobodyaskedmeyet…" Hinata muttered in a low voice. Sasori leaned closer, interest piqued. "Hmmm?" he wrapped his arms around her. "No one asked me yet." Hinata grumbled more clearly, pushing him off. "Oh…"

Hinata waited for him to ask her to go, but mentally shook her head. _No… I'm waiting for one of his stupid responses that usually get me angry or annoyed._

Sasori gave her a worried look. She hasn't talked in the past ten minutes. "Hinata?" she sat up straight, seeming to have just woken up from a nap. "Huh?" She looked around. "Something wrong?" he asked. Hinata shook her head. "Sorry…"

"Well, lunch is almost over. We'd better get back to class." Sasori said getting up. "…Okay." Hinata slowly got up and followed him to their next class.

_(After school)_

Deidara decided to just skip class. He'd just go back home, take a long shower, and sleep the rest of his vacation away. Right after he declared to never see Hinata during his week off, he saw her. He had the worst luck. Sighing, he hurried into the house, made himself something to eat, threw it away (it tasted terrible), slept off the hunger, and woke up when the other three were arriving home.

Listening carefully, he held his breath so that he could focus a little more.

"… I'm worried… what if he was kicked out of Akatsuki for taking an entire month off?" Hinata asked, walking up the stairs. Neji probably had something to do at school. "Will you quit it about Deidara? He can't be kicked out of Akatsuki. And he didn't take the month off, he was working, as far as I knew. He just had a bunch of free time." Sasori said.

"But what if he's an exception? What if he's being tracked down and… stuff?" There was a sudden silence. Deidara sat up and pressed his ear against the wall to hear what was happening.

Sasori pulled away from their small kiss. "Hinata, he's not here, he's not bothering… you, so you don't need to worry. Forget about him." Hinata looked away. "It's your kind of thinking that makes me refuse to date you." She said, sadness in her eyes. Sasori kissed her again. "And it's my kind of thinking that'll make you mine." without another word, he walked away to his room. Hinata slid down to the floor. She just sat there for a while.



Deidara leaned back. _He kissed her._ He said to himself angrily. Part of him wanted to take all those kisses and replace them with his, but he couldn't. Oh how he wanted to hold her right now…

Shaking his head, he plopped down on his bed. He sighed. _I guess this is to be expected. I left, giving Sasori an opening to her. _He grimaced. Burying his face in his pillow, he began to fall asleep.

_(Yes, sleep your troubles away)_

Hinata got up from where she was and sighed. Life was beginning to get troublesome. Glancing at Deidara's room, she slowly opened the door. It was almost exactly the way he left it except for… what was that on the bed?

Silently, she walked over, holding in a gasp for what she saw. Deidara was sleeping, muttering random curses as he slept. Hinata hesitantly reached a hand forward to touch his head. But suddenly, his hand grabbed her arm and pulled her down to him. "How did you… get in here?" he asked groggily, rubbing his eyes from sleep. Hinata felt tears well up in her eyes. "Th… The door was… open…" She said softly.

Deidara sat up and kissed her. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her onto the bed, moving on top of her. "Tell me, whose kisses taste better?" he smirked. Hinata blushed. "I… I can't choose…" She tightly closed her eyes as he kissed her again. "Now?" Hinata shook her head; he kissed her again. "I'm gonna keep kissing you until you choose." He kissed her over and over, making her feel hot.

Hinata felt him run his hands over her body, causing her to shiver. "D-Deidara-nii-san…" She whispered. "Don't talk. I'll only want to go all the way with you." Deidara whispered in her ear. Hinata bit her lip as he sucked on her neck. His hands travelled up her shirt, tickling her breast with his fingertips. Hinata let out a soft moan. _Ah… that wasn't supposed to come out…_

"You like it." Deidara said. Hinata shamefully nodded. "Then I'll stop." His hand slowly retreated from under her shirt. His lips met hers in a short kiss before just letting himself lie on top of her. "Why…?" Hinata started. "I want you to beg for more. I'll keep doing this every chance I get until you start begging me to continue." He whispered huskily in her ear.

They heard the front door open. "I'm home!" Neji called.

Deidara smirked. "I'll see you later." He said, letting his lips brush with her cheek as she sat up. "U-Um… I-I'll bring your dinner up soon, okay?" Hinata said, suddenly feeling self-conscious about her appearance. "Sure." In a second, he was behind her, whispering in her ear. "You can be dessert." He licked her ear lobe, gently pushing her out of his room.

Hinata gasped when she heard the door close behind her.

"Hinata?" Neji gave her a worried look when he saw her flustered face. She walked over to him. "H-Hi, Neji-nii-san! H-How was… cleaning duty?" Neji's concerned look didn't disappear. "Did something happen?" he asked, looking her over. Her shirt was slightly messed up and her skirt was crooked. Hinata shook her head. "No, nothing happened." _Nothing __good__ anyway…_ 

Neji, though he disliked it, trusted her. "Okay. But if anything really did happen, you can come to me. I can help you." Hinata nodded. "Thanks, Neji-nii-san." Neji continued on to his room.

Hinata sighed and leaned on the railing. To tell the truth, she wanted to go back with Deidara, but shook her head. She shouldn't be feeling anything for him after what he's done. But he just forced himself on her, and it caught her off guard. _But Sasori does the same thing…_ Deeply troubled, she walked back to her room and lied down.

She began crying for no reason. Or, maybe there was a reason, she just hasn't found it yet. Either way, tears were rolling down her cheeks and onto the bed, soaking through the sheets and onto the mattress. Slowly, she turned to her side and hugged her pillow. A few minutes later, she stopped, just remembering that she should change into different clothes.

_(Dinnertime)_

It was almost dinnertime, and Hinata had to cook again. She quickly set that up, calling everyone down for dinner. Only Neji replied; he walked down the stairs. "Where's everyone else?" Hinata asked. Neji shrugged as he sat down at the table. "Don't they want dinner?" Neji looked at her. "'They' who? It's only Sasori up there." He said. "O-Oh yeah… I guess I'll go bring Sasori his dinner then." Hinata got two plates and carefully walked up the stairs.

_Why's she bringing two plates up?_ Neji thought. Ignoring it, he started eating the food Hinata put on the table.

"Sasori… are you coming down to eat? If not I have your food right here." Hinata poked her head through the door. Sasori glanced at her before turning back to his desk. He seemed to be working on something. "Sasori…?" suddenly, he was right in front of her, giving her a small kiss on the lips. "Let's get married." He said, smiling. Hinata blushed. "E-Eh? M-Married?" Sasori nodded. "But not now. Later. When you're… _less resistant._ Okay?" he held up the drawing he was working on. It was of him and Hinata newly married and hugging each other.

"Like it?" he grinned. Hinata looked over the drawing. She had to admit, it looked just like him and her. "Uh… Y-Yeah?" she smiled a little. "That's awesome!" Sasori looked like a little kid. "I'll draw more, if you want!" he hugged her (after setting down the two plates on his desk).

Hinata hugged him back, then quickly put her arms back to her sides. "Okay, well, go ahead and bring your plate down when you're done. See you later." Hinata was about to head back with (Deidara's) plate, but Sasori grabbed her arm. "Wait… you're not gonna eat with me?" he asked, feeling disappointed. "Uh… no. Neji's waiting downstairs for me and all…" How was she supposed to get herself out of this one?

Sasori eyed the plate in her hand. "Why'd you bring another plate if you're not gonna eat with me?" he asked. Hinata avoided eye contact. "Uh… It was an accident. It's actually my plate and… I'll just go put it back now…" she made a move to go, but Sasori gripped her arm tighter. "Is someone else here upstairs?" Sasori made her turn around to face him, forcing eye contact. Hinata nodded. "Who?" 

Hinata paused before answering. _Should I tell him?_ She decided to lie. But what would she tell him? "Uh… my imaginary friend."Bullshit. Sasori glared at her. "You're kidding me." He said angrily. "You don't have an imaginary friend. That was the most bull-shitted lie I've ever heard you say."

Almost panicked, Hinata went for a different plan: Be very general. "Someone we both know is in a room in this house." Sasori couldn't really blame her for lying because technically she didn't. He let go of her shoulders and sighed. "I'll find out one of these days. And I'll 'punish' you for lying to me when I do." He smirked. Hinata hesitantly nodded and continued to the room Deidara was in.

Softly, she said his name so that Sasori wouldn't hear, so that Sasori wouldn't have to 'punish' her.

"Deidara-nii-san… are you hungry yet?" she asked, walking in. "Why not?" Deidara smiled at her, making her a little suspicious. Just a few hours ago, he was kissing her and touching her and… She placed the food on his desk, cautiously eyeing him. He looked back, his smile still on his face. "…What are you looking at…?" She asked awkwardly. "You." His smile seemed to turn into a small smirk. "What are _you_ looking at?" Hinata looked away. "I'll come back for your plate later." She began to walk towards the door.

Suddenly, Deidara's arms wrapped around her waist. "I'll be waiting…" He whispered. Hinata tried her hardest not to react and amazingly succeeded. "Yeah, yeah…" She walked out of his hug and closed the door when she walked out. _Time to eat my own food…_

Neji had finished by then and was now watching TV in the living room. "Oh… are you finished already?" Hinata asked. Neji glanced at her. "Yeah, sorry. I can still sit with you, if you want." He said. Hinata shook her head. "N-No, it looks like you're busy. I can eat alone." She said, smiling at him. Neji turned off the TV and stood up. "I'll sit with you anyway." He smiled back. "Okay."

Hinata started eating as Neji took a seat beside her. "How's it going?" he asked. A small cloud of gloom appeared. She turned away slightly. "…That bad, huh? What happened?" Neji leaned on his arm. "…Lots of stuff, as you can see." Hinata laughed a bit. "Yeah… how's your stomach? Feeling better?" he asked. "Yeah, thanks." They sat in silence after that until Hinata was finished eating.

She stood up and put the plate in the sink. She heard Neji get up from his seat and figured that he went back to the living room. But when she turned around he was standing close to her, slightly leaning forward. "N-Neji-nii-san…?" she looked at him worriedly. Without saying a word, he leaned down and gave her a small kiss on the lips. Hinata blushed, but surprisingly, he didn't turn red at all. "Are you… okay?" he asked. Hinata looked down. They both stayed silent for a few moments.

Looking back up, she smiled at him. "No, to tell the truth, I'm not." Neji was about to sat something, but found that he couldn't. "I-It's okay, though. Y-You can't really do anything about it." She tugged at his shirt lightly before hugging him tightly. "I-I-I'm just… so… so confused right now… I-It's just so… frustrating and… I hate it…" she began to cry into his chest. Neji hugged her tightly, kissing her head. He didn't exactly know what she was talking about, but he wanted to be there to help. Gently, he stroked her hair, holding her closer. 

A few minutes later, Hinata stopped crying, wiping her eyes as Neji loosened his grip on her. He still kept the hug, though. "S-Sorry… You haven't seen me cry in a while…" she said, trying to laugh. Neji kissed her again, making her blush. "I don't see you… but I hear you. You cry a lot more than I'd like you to." He said. Hinata felt tears well up in her eyes again, but Neji wiped them away. "Don't cry anymore." He said softly. Hinata smiled. "Okay."

Sasori watched bitterly as he saw the scene before him unfold. When they stopped, he made his entrance. "Hey! Hinata! I have my plate!" he sang, bumping Neji away with his hip and hugging Hinata. "Explain that to me later." He whispered in her ear. Quickly, he turned towards Neji, smiling. "Neji! What's up!?" Neji had an almost annoyed look on his face, the only rivaling emotion being confusion.

"Uh… Nothing much…" he answered awkwardly. "That's nice." Sasori's smile was both scary and unnerving. It almost had an evil aura to it. Hinata stepped forward a bit. "I'm gonna go take a shower, okay?" She smiled. Sasori and Neji nodded. When she was gone, Sasori glared at Neji. "Don't. Touch. Her." He said angrily. Neji glared right back. "You don't tell me what to do." The two had a small glaring contest until they both gave up, declaring that their eyes started hurting.

_Honestly, I can't figure out how Itachi can do that for hours on end!_ Sasori mentally sighed, rubbing his eyes. "We're even for now." He said. Neji nodded, rubbing his eyes as well.

_(With Deidara)_

Deidara finished his food long ago, and was now waiting impatiently for Hinata to return. _I thought she'd come back…_ he thought almost angrily. He heard footsteps walking up the stairs and brightened up a little. But the footsteps faded away, towards the bathroom. A few minutes later, he heard the shower running.

Sighing, he lay down in bed. He thought about how just a few hours ago, he was making out with Hinata, and only a few hours before that, he promised to himself that he wouldn't see her that day. It was weird how things came up. Now he couldn't get enough of her.

Deidara smiled. The door to his room opened. Deidara pretended to be asleep. He heard the plate being moved and immediately grabbed the person's hand. "What the hell-!?"

Sasori shoved his arm away, backing off a few steps. "Deidara!? What the hell!?" he yelled. Deidara jumped up from the bed. "Sasori!? Shit, man! What are you doing here!?" he shouted. Sasori punched him. "I should be asking the same thing!" He dodged the kick coming his way.

"I'm spending my week off here! Is that so wrong!?" Deidara pushed Sasori away. "Yes!" The two glared at each other.

Hinata poked her head in through the door. "Deidara-nii-san, are you finished with your… Sasori?" She quickly walked into the room and closed the door so that Neji wouldn't hear. "Wh… What are you doing in here, Sasori?" She asked. Sasori walked over to her, angry. "Why is he here!?" he asked. Hinata glanced at Deidara. "H-He's… on… vacation?" What? It was true.

Sasori cursed under his breath. "You can't be serious." He looked at Deidara, who just smiled and waved. "So he's the one you gave that other plate to." Hinata nodded. "And _that's _what kept you from eating with me!" It looked like that was the one thing that bothered Sasori. "I can't _believe_ you!" he exclaimed dramatically.

"U-Um… I-I'll eat with you tomorrow… if you like…" Hinata said awkwardly, trying to comfort him. He sobbed (a fake sob, at that) and nodded.

"Hey, no fair! I wanna eat with you!" Deidara protested. "N-Next time…-" Sasori grabbed Hinata into a hug and stuck out his tongue at Deidara. "Nu-uh! She's mine!" Letting out a low growl, Deidara tacked Sasori (after he pushed Hinata out of the way) and started a small fist fight on the ground.

Soon Hinata began to get annoyed and kicked them both to the wall, making a small dent in it. "Stop it! Both of you!" she yelled. "I'll eat with Sasori tomorrow night, and then I'll eat with Deidara the night after, alright!?" Sasori and Deidara nodded. Sighing, Hinata began walking out of the room.

"…Ah, she forgot the plate." Deidara said.

"Hinata, what was all that noise?" Neji asked, standing at the top of the stairs. "Um… Sasori hugged me by surprise and kinda scared me… sorry for disturbing you." Hinata answered, smiling. "Oh… well are you okay?" Neji looked her over once. "Yeah… thanks." Hinata walked to her room, closing the door and changing into pajamas.

She crawled into bed, a little tired from all the events that happened that day. She noticed another flower was on her windowsill. She took it and put it beside the other one from yesterday. _Where do these flowers keep coming from?_ Groggily, she went to her bed and lied down. It wasn't going to be a problem falling asleep.

The door creaked open, someone walking in. Hinata sighed. She already knew who it was. "Guess who?" Sasori grinned, crawling into bed with her. He wrapped his arms around her. "Don't bother me tonight… I'm tired…" Hinata tried scooting a little farther, but Sasori's hugs were tight as always. "Mm… I'm only here to sleep." His hands went up her shirt and stayed on her stomach. He felt her stiffen, then relax a bit. "Sorry… does it still hurt?" he whispered. Hinata shook her head. "It's fine." She said. Sasori kissed her neck. "Okay, Good night."

Hinata tried to fall asleep, but now found that she couldn't. A very random subject came at a very random time: The dance. Why must it torture her so? It probably wasn't going to be as big as a prom or a formal party or anything, so why as she so crazy about it? Maybe it was because it was her very first school oriented dance. Or maybe because she was scared about who was going to take her to one.

Sasori began running his hand up and down her arm. "Relax." He whispered soothingly in her ear. His closeness was doing anything but calming her down. Hinata moved into a slightly more comfortable position and tried to fall asleep again. She groaned when she found that she couldn't sleep like that either. 

Suddenly, she was moved to lie on her back. "Try this way." Sasori gently placed himself on top of her, mindful of her stomach. Hinata found that it was a lot more comfortable this way. "You okay now?" Sasori whispered. Hinata had fallen asleep in an instant, and in reply to his question gave a small snore. He smiled, her snores were cute. How come he never heard her snore before? Gently, he kissed her cheek and went to sleep himself.

_(End of Chapter)_

Okay, so much crap is happening in the school.

Mrs. Schou, the bestest teacher since Mr. Cascio left, is leaving to teach high school. Mrs. Hart (though we all dislike her very VERY much) is moving to teach the third grade, Mrs. Hokenson is moving to France (a TOTALLY random announcement (We like her better than Mrs. Hart)) and… Mrs. Hart is on the hiring committee of the new teachers. That's scary. Oh, and our principal's become a total asshole.

PS: Those random author's comments are there because for some reason they won't let me put the usual 'dash semicolon dash' thing. Oh well.


	13. Dance

Opening Omake Theatre: Daisies

In the last chapter, another daisy was on Hinata's windowsill. But as far as you knew, Deidara was in his room. But that's only as far as you know. I, the author, say that while the others were at school, he went to the shop, got another daisy and put it there. Pretty behind-the-scenes, huh? Oh well.

_(Random Author's Comment in replacement for the 'dash semicolon dash')_

Hinata woke up to Neji's voice. He sounded angry, yet his rants weren't aimed at him. She turned slightly in bed to look.

"Ah, she's awake." Sasori said, ignoring Neji and smiling at Hinata. Well, it wasn't like he was listening to Neji in the first place. "Good morning…" Hinata rubbed her eyes cutely and sat up. "Hinata, what was Sasori doing on top of you last night?" Neji asked. "…" She looked at Neji and then Sasori. "He was helping me sleep." Hinata said sleepily. Neji eyed Sasori suspiciously.

It took her a while to sense the tension, but Hinata found it eventually. "U-Um, It's not what you think! He just snuck into my room again and just slept in my bed! That's all!" She explained. If anything, it only made Neji a little angrier. "You snuck into her room!?" he yelled, waking up Deidara in the other room. But he's a different part of the story.

Sasori stood up (yes, he was sitting down) and dusted himself off. "Neji was going to wake you up for school." He said. Hinata got out of bed. "Okay, I'll go get ready then. Both of you out." She yawned as she pushed the two out of the room. Sighing, she closed the door and leaned against it. She was extremely sleepy today.

Sleep began to creep over her mind again, but she jolted up, remembering something very important. "Breakfast!" She squeaked. Running down the stairs, she tripped and fell on top of Neji (which means that running down stairs makes you trip and crash into your sibling). "N-Neji-nii-san! Have you eaten breakfast yet!?" she asked. Neji nodded. "I took a shot at cooking. I'm pretty good. There's leftovers if you and Sasori want some." Hinata sighed in relief. "But you'd better hurry, School starts in 45 minutes. And I know how long you take in the bath."

Hinata squeaked, quickly rolling off of Neji. She ran into the kitchen and was out in about five minutes, carrying a plate with food upstairs. _Is she going to take a bath with the food?_ A door opened and closed and then silence.

"Oh, Hinata. Breakfast." Deidara smiled at her. "I-I can't stay for long, so here's my breakfast and I gotta go take a bath now!" Hinata bolted out of his room, swiftly avoiding Deidara's reaching hand. "I'll talk to you later!" She said, running into the bathroom. The shower started and a few minutes later she got out. It was amazing that she didn't trip ye-

Hinata slipped on her way to her room, still dripping from her shower. She slid all the way to in front of her room, which was oddly convenient. Oh well, she used the doorknob to pull herself up and went 

inside her room. Changing into her uniform, she combed her hair. In that time, Sasori calmly walked up the stairs and began his morning routine.

The three ran out the door, only to bump into Ino on the way. "Hinata? Where are you going?" she asked. She was still in her pajamas. "I-I-Ino-chan!? What are you doing, school starts in a few minutes!" Hinata grabbed her arm. "School? But I thought they were taking the day off to prepare for the dance?" Ino said, looking confused. "Besides, I wouldn't go to school! I have a date with my Shika today!" she gushed.

"No… School?" It was Hinata's turn to look confused. "Yeah, they say that the dance is like the biggest non-prom dance ever. Other schools are going to come. They told us to dress nicely. Pretty weird, huh?" Ino explained. Hinata nodded. "Well, the point is, there's no school today."

Part of Hinata wished that wasn't true. I mean, what was all that rushing for? She slipped on the floor to get to her room for Pete's sake! "Oh… Okay then. Thanks for telling me, I would've been so embarrassed! I'll see you later then." And plus, she never realized that the week had already passed to Friday. And still, no one asked her.

Sasori grinned. "No school today, No school today!" he sang as they walked down the sidewalk. "Now I can practice dancing! This is so great!" Hinata looked at him. "Who are you going with?" she asked, almost worriedly. If Sasori's taken, then she can't go to her first dance. That's what she thought anyway. She could totally go without a date, there'll be other people there. But that's not the point right now.

Sasori tsk'd her. "You should know this already, I've been flirting with her since the week after I came here!" he said happily. Hinata was extremely puzzled, but refused to press the matter any further. "How about you, Neji-nii-san?" Neji grimaced. "Lee forced me to come. He says that he wants to rub it in my face that he got TenTen to go." Hinata smiled. "Sorry to hear that." She laughed. "What's worse is that if I come without a date I have to wear Lee's kind of uniform for the rest of the year." Hinata was about to offer to be his date, but he shook his head. "And he says you don't count."

This time Sasori laughed. "How're you going to find a date by tonight?" Neji took out Lee's uniform from his backpack and started putting on the top part. Hinata stopped him. "W-What about Temari-san? You know, Kankurou-san's older sister." Neji proceeded in putting the pants over his own uniform. "I don't date older women, Hinata." He muttered.

As Neji was being surrounded in a cloud of gloom, Hinata saw Deidara in the kitchen washing dishes through the window. She gasped. They were almost home. "A-Ah! S-Sasori!" she whispered something in his ear and he nodded. "Hey, Neji. I'm gonna go get that Dancing CD ready. I'll go on ahead." Neji nodded. Sasori ran into the house, practically throwing Deidara back into his room.

"What's the big deal!?" he yelled. "Hinata and Neji are coming back home now! Get in there!" Sasori kicked Deidara into the room and closed the door.

Just in time, too, because the second Deidara's room door closed, the front door opened. "N-Neji-nii-san, it's not that bad. It's just three months of it. I mean, there's only one semester left anyway." Hinata 

said, trying to comfort Neji. He stood up straight. "You're right! I should look on the bright side of this! Green isn't a bad color!" he declared. "That's the spirit!" Hinata cheered. Neji ran up the stair and into his room to cry in self pity. Wouldn't you do the same?

When he was gone, Sasori grabbed Hinata and twirled her around the living room. He had moved the table to the side, leaving room to dance. "S-Sasori, what are you doing?" She asked, awkwardly trying to follow his steps. "Dancing. Why?" Sasori answered. "W-Well, why are you dancing with me?" Hinata looked down at their feet, making sure that she didn't step on his. "Practice." Sasori leaned down and kissed her.

_H-He's going to kiss her!?_ Hinata thought. She suddenly stopped, earning a worried look from Sasori. "What's up?" he asked. She looked at him. "I… I don't really want to practice. Can you dance by yourself?" She had an almost sad look on her face. _Is that what she thinks?_ Sasori reluctantly letting her go. "Okay. Go." He held her hand until she was out of reach. She walked up the stairs and into her room. Sasori cursed himself. Why the heck did he let her have her way just now? _Oh well. I'll just take her to the dance later._

_(Hinata's room that night)_

Hinata looked through her closet, looking for a dress that she'd wear if she could go to the dance. She put it on completely, looking at herself in the mirror. It was a simple one, no frills, jewels, just a dress with a long skirt. The sleeves went just past her elbows and its color was a dark blue. Sighing, she just stood in front of the mirror.

Sasori barged into her room wearing a simple dress shirt and black pants. "Hinata, come on. We're gonna be late." He said, tying on his tie. He looked up at her and almost had a nosebleed at what he saw. Her confused look made it look even more dashing. "Uh… G-Good. You're already dressed. Let's get going." That was one of the first times he's ever stuttered in front of her.

"Eh?" Hinata turned around, making the skirt lift slightly then gracefully return to her legs. It was an unintentional action, but it happened. "Don't 'Eh' me! We're going to the dance!" Sasori went over and grabbed her arm. "D-Dance? W-Wait, I can't go!" Hinata protested. Sasori looked at her. "Why not?" he asked. "B-Because… Y-You already have someone waiting for you… And I don't have a date to the dance…" She looked down.

Suddenly, Sasori pulled her into a hug and kissed her. It felt a little too loving for his tastes, but it got his point across. "The only one waiting is me. Hurry up and realize that I'm your date!" He kissed her again. This time Hinata actually kissed him back. When they parted, she hugged him. "… Thank you…" She said.

Sasori smirked. "Does that mean that we're going…" Hinata stopped him. "That kiss was only a thank you. Got it?" Sasori wrapped his arm around her waist. "Whatever."

Neji was waiting for them at the front door. "What took you so long?" He asked. Sasori grinned. "Just a little straightening out. Nothing big." Hinata walked over beside Neji. "U-Um… What are you going to do with Rock Lee?" She asked worriedly. Smiling sadly, Neji looked at her. "I honestly don't know." Hinata 

looked down. "O-Oh… Well… I-I'm sorry that I couldn't help…" She played with her fingers nervously. Neji patted her head. "Don't worry about it… It's only three months. Ehehe…" Neji sighed. "I-It could be worse…" he muttered.

Hinata was suddenly pulled back beside Sasori. "Hey. I know that Deidara's here. That means I get to 'punish' you later." He whispered, wrapping his arm around her waist. Hinata shivered. "U-Um… Y-You can't be serious…!" she stuttered quietly.

Soon they arrived at the school and the first thing Hinata thought was: _Gosh the music is loud…_ It was practically vibrating the ground within a half-mile radius. Still, she walked in and saw that everything was pretty dark except for the blinking lights and decorations.

Ino walked up to them. "Hinata! You came! That's awesome!" she grinned, linking arms with her. Shikamaru was at her side, smiling. Sasori nodded to him. "Oh gosh, you brought Sasori with you? Hinata, you sneaky girl! When did you two get back together?" Ino asked, whispering so that the other two wouldn't hear. "W-We're not going out…" Truthfully, Hinata didn't know what to call their relationship. Ino looked confused. "Okay, whatever you say, Hinata!" she nudged her lightly in the arm.

She turned and grabbed Shikamaru's hands. "Let's dance, Shika!" She laughed, pulling Shikamaru onto the dance floor. Hinata smiled. They looked so happy together.

Sasori pulled Hinata to him, hugging her from behind. "Let's dance." He whispered, twirling her around. "W-Wait… I don't know how to dance!" Hinata squeaked. "Then why'd you come?" Sasori asked, laughing. "You forced me!" Sasori smirked. "Just trust me."

_(Dancing… (Author cannot describe dancing(the closest thing she's had to dancing was DDR)))_

Hinata sighed contentedly as she sat down beside Sasori in a chair. "That was…" she started. "Epic? I know." Sasori smiled. While they were dancing, they grabbed the attention of the other people. They instantly became the center of attention. It was clear that Sasori was leading her through the whole thing, but it was amazing that Hinata was able to keep up.

He wrapped an arm around her. "I didn't think you'd stay with the beat. I was getting nervous when everyone started staring." He said. Hinata smiled. "I guess I was thinking a little too negative when I said I couldn't dance…" She laughed as she stood up. "I'll go get a drink of water." She said. "But there's soda over there at the table." Sasori nodded to the snack table in the corner. "Yeah, but I like water better. I'll just go to a water fountain." Sasori watched her as she headed towards the door leading to the hallway.

As she walked down the slightly lit halls, she found the water fountain. Leaning down to take a drink, she heard someone walking by. She shrugged it off as another person attending the dance. Suddenly she was pinned against the wall. It wasn't pitch black, but it was still pretty dark. It was hard to see who this person was. However, his outline could be seen, and it looked familiar.

The person leaned down and kissed her, something that was a familiar feeling as well. "D-Deidara-nii-san…?" she whispered. Deidara kissed her again. "Hi Hinata…" He said huskily, his lips brushing over 

hers. Hinata let out a small huff before gently pushing him away. He still had her pinned to the wall, he just couldn't kiss her. "What's wrong?" he asked, holding her face close to his. "Wh-What are you doing here?" Hinata gasped. Deidara smiled. "I wanted to see you. Is that so wrong?" he kissed her again. Closing her eyes, Hinata sighed.

Suddenly, the door to the hall opened. "Hinata? Are you okay…" Sasori stared at Deidara and then Hinata. Deidara smirked and kissed Hinata again, infuriating Sasori even more. He walked over and tried to bunch Deidara, but he easily dodged it. Hinata began to walk over to him, but Sasori pushed her against the wall with his arm. "You stay here. Tonight we settle this." He didn't even glance at her when he chased Deidara out of the school. They were going to fight.

_(Deidara Childhood Special (Deidara's POV))_

_I remember when I had my first fist-fight. It was with Neji. One day I just couldn't stand the unknown competition on who'd stay with Hinata forever. I lost, but not without making Neji a complete and utter black and blue mess. It was when Mom and Dad felt that we could be trusted home alone. Psh. They actually thought three 8 year olds could be home alone? Especially when two of them were boys with an unknown rivalry and sister complex. _

_Oh well. It's not like they knew. That was a long time ago, and I still remember that our punishment was to be never left home alone until we were 35. We couldn't tell that they were joking back then, and that scared us a lot. I also remember that Hinata was left out of the punishment because she tried to stop us. We both accidentally punched her in the stomach, but we weren't as strong as we thought we were, so it didn't kill her. _

_She said that she didn't mind, though. We, me and Neji, punched her with full force into her stomach and she didn't mind at all. I remember that I got seriously pissed off after the fight. _

"What the heck do you mean that you don't mind!?" I yelled. She just smiled at me. "I know you didn't mean it." She laughed. I grabbed her head and squeezed it. "Do you mind this!? Huh!?" She whimpered a little. "D-Deidara-nii-san!" I let go of her head and hugged her. "If you don't toughen up people'll take advantage of you!" Hinata just hugged me back. "Sorry…"

_Then suddenly I fainted. Well, we both fainted, me and Neji, but I fainted in Hinata's arms. I heard her calling my name until I completely blacked out. The next thing I knew me and Neji were on the couch. I woke up first. Mom was hunched over the two of us with a worried look. "What did you guys do while we were gone?" She asked. "I fighted Neji in the back yard. I lost, can you believe that!" Deidara grumbled, wincing in pain when he sat up. _

_Mom and Dad sighed hopelessly. "That's it! You're not staying home alone until you're thirty-five!" Dad yelled. "The two of you except Hinata. She told us that you two punched her! How could you do that?" he asked angrily. "W-We didn't mean to! We were about to punch each other when she just ran in between us!" Dad sighed again. "You're not supposed to be punching each other in the first place!" I was about to say something, but he cut me off with a declaration that we were both grounded for the month. But it _

_wasn't anything like a normal grounding. We got the worst punishment of our lives: No talking to Hinata for a week, and after that no TV, Games, or Seeing your friends after school for the rest of the month. _

"_How can we trust you outside if we can't even trust you home alone?" Mom explained. Neji was informed of everything when he woke up. _

_We could tell that Hinata didn't like it either. So we talked in the middle of the night without anyone finding out. Only the three of us knew about our secret meetings. Though, I took pride in the loophole I found in the grounding contract: They only said we couldn't talk to her. They said nothing about sleeping, touching, or hugging her. (Though the loophole didn't matter, I talked to her anyway.)_

_After all that, the week of No Hinata, the month of no socializing and TV and Video Games, me and Neji became friends again. We both promised that we'd stay with Hinata forever. Too bad that I didn't live up to that promise. I bet I tore her apart when I left. But I know that she's a strong girl, and that she pulled herself back together a little bit later. _

-Deidara

Deidara (13) sighed as he put down his pen. He read over the paper a few times to check for any mistakes. Then he put it in his organizer and tucked it away under the bed. That was his essay that was due tomorrow. The subject was 'Explain to us a fond memory from before Akatsuki Academy'. Oh god he hoped that he didn't have to read it aloud tomorrow.

"…Who's Hinata?" Sasori (11) asked, reading over Deidara's paper. "GAAHK!! Don't read that!" Deidara reached for it, but only succeeded in falling out of his chair and onto the ground. Sasori walked around the room, reading Deidara's report. "Aww… that's so nice, Deidara! I had no idea you had such a sentimental side to you." Sasori grinned evilly. "Shut up…" Deidara grumbled. Sasori laughed. "I'm going to request that you read yours out loud." He said. "It's not like I'd agree!" Deidara yelled.

_(In the classroom when the paper was due)_

"Deidara! By special request of an anonymous friend named Sasori, you have to read your report out loud!" Yukari said. Deidara glared at Sasori, who held up a peace/victory sign. Sighing, Deidara decided to read the parts that don't include embarrassing himself to death. Unfortunately, that only narrowed it down to 'I lost my first fist-fight and made my opponent a bloody mess before losing.' And amazingly, only that one phrase made everyone burst out in laughter.

Oh my god. School sucks.

Turning red from embarrassment, Deidara shrunk down in his seat. When class was over, Sasori tried to apologize through fits of laughter, making Deidara feel even worse about himself than he already did. "Just leave me alone, okay!?" he slammed the door in Sasori's face when they reached their room. Too bad they were roommates.



Sasori opened the door only to be hit in the face with a pillow. "I hate you!" he shouted. "Oh, come on. It was just some stupid report. No one'll take it seriously." Sasori said. Just then two people walked by the door. "Man, Deidara's such a wimp! Did you hear that essay in class? Totally lame!" they laughed. Sighing, Sasori walked into the room and closed the door. "Those two were stupid. They don't count." He tried, failing miserably to comfort Deidara.

"You know what? I'm gonna go back to Konoha! I'll apologize for everything I did and just go back! I hate this place! I hate _you_!" Deidara ran towards the door, easily slipping through the guards at the gate. From there he began running.

Sasori just stared at the door. _He'll be back tomorrow._ He thought boredly, lying down on his bed.

_(With Deidara)_

Deidara amazingly made it at the Hyuga house in only a few hours. It felt weird to be back, but he swore to himself that the first thing he'd check on was Hinata. He still remembered where her room was, and he remembered that there was a huge tree that just reached to her window. Quickly, he climbed up the tree and peered into the window. She was still sleeping.

Silently, he slipped into her room, surprised that the window was unlocked. He slowly walked to Hinata's side. He looked over her sleeping form and smiled. He was happy to see her again, but he wished she was awake to see him. It had been about almost five years now since he's last seen her. Gently, he stroked her hair.

Leaning down, he lightly kissed her cheek. She stirred slightly, but still remained asleep. Stepping back a bit, he cursed himself when he accidentally bumped into a nightstand. He stood still and held his breath, and to his dismay Hinata began to wake up.

Gracefully, she sat up and rubbed her eyes. Deidara stayed still, praying that she wouldn't notice him. But, unfortunately, he wasn't the religious kind of person Hidan was. Hinata turned slightly and gasped.

"Deidara…nii…san…" She whispered. Deidara backed away a little more, inching towards the window. Hinata crawled out of bed, standing up right in front of him. She touched his face and let her hand run down his arm. Turning red a bit, Deidara looked away. "I… I'm not dreaming…" Her hand went back to his face, where his hand held hers as it cupped his face. Tears began leaking out her eyes and Deidara wiped them away.

She mumbled something that Deidara couldn't quite catch. He leaned a little closer to hear. "…Wh… Where did you go? Why… Why did you leave?" she asked shakily, holding on to Deidara's shirt for support. Hesitantly, he wrapped his arms around her, his hands running through her hair. He missed hugging her like this. She tightly hugged him back, crying into his shirt.

Deidara slowly moved her to the bed. He pushed her off of him, making her land on the bed. "Hinata. I can't stay here." He whispered. Hinata was about to get up again, but Deidara pinned her down. "… Don't look for me." He closed his eyes as she began to protest. "Wh… What? Y-You can't leave! Don't!" 

Hinata moved her hand to hold his arm. "Please… Don't leave me again!" she pleaded, moving up to hug him.

He couldn't take it any longer. Deidara brought his arm up and hit a pressure point in her neck, knocking her out cold. She looked at him, whispering his name before blacking out completely. "…Deidara-nii-san…" He tucked her in to bed and left the way he came.

It began raining as he walked down the dark and empty streets of Konoha. _Good…_ he thought. He'd use the rain to hide his tears as he cried.

_(The next morning)_

Neji walked into Hinata's room. He slowly walked to her bed, noticing that her eyes were slightly swollen from crying. He gently shook her until she woke up.

"Deidara-nii-san!" She exclaimed, suddenly drenched in sweat. Neji pulled her into a hug as if he knew that she'd break down crying. She did, clinging to Neji like tomorrow was nothing but a far-off fantasy. "N-Neji-nii-san… I… I saw him! He was here last night!" She cried into his shirt, hugging him tightly. He rubbed her back. "No you didn't. You were dreaming." He whispered. Hinata cried harder, squeezing his shirt. "It was so real though… I actually felt him –hugged him… there's no way it was only a dream!" she cried a little more.

Neji hugged her almost as tightly as she was to him. "It's alright… don't cry." He said soothingly, lightly rocking her back and forth. Soon, she stopped crying, only hugging Neji tightly. He kissed her head. "It's almost time for breakfast. Get ready, okay?" Neji gave her one last squeeze before leaving the room. Hinata nodded, wiping her eyes with the back of her hands.

"Neji, why's your shirt so wet?" Mom asked. "Oh… It's nothing. I'll change later." Neji answered, sitting down at the table. Hinata came a few minutes later. "Hinata? Are you alright? Your eyes are swollen! What happened?" Mom went over to Hinata and hugged her. Hinata shook her head. "It's nothing, Mom. Don't worry." She faked a smile and rested her head on his shoulder. "Thank you, Neji-nii-san." She whispered to him. Neji gave a low grunt as he took a bite out of his food.

_(End of Chapter)_

Ugh… I feel like crap because I know I got a lower grade than I did the first trimester. And its because of that I might not be able to go to the Sakura-Con! I've already made plans for that and everything! Ooh… I'm so anxious right now! Shit Shit double-sh-It! (Sighs) Oh well. There's always next year. --


	14. I'm Afraid

Hey, guess what!? I CAN go to the Sakura-con! I got a grade a little lower than from the first trimester, but I made it on the honor roll! My mom says that I can go! I only got Honors, though (last tri was High Honors) but they still count as good grades! I ISH HAPPEH TO DETH!!

However… I'm sick. And I feel like shit. OH WELL WHO CARES IM GONNA FORCE MESELF TO GO EVEN IF IT KILLS ME!! VIC MIGNOGNA'S AUTOGRAPH IS MY NUMBAH ONE GOAL!!

_(Uhm… On with the story)_

Hinata waited a few minutes before she decided to go to the place where the two were going to fight. She began to walk towards the door at the end of the hall, but Neji suddenly walked out of the dance hall soaking wet. "N-Neji-nii-san!" She ran towards him, a questioning look asking him why he was wet.

"Well… Lee somehow got drunk on punch and decided to play spin the bottle… but the bottle was still full… It landed on me and the drink spilled all over me and… Ugh, he is so troublesome sometimes!" Neji explained in an annoyed tone. "Anyway, why are you here? What happened?"

Hinata looked back to the door leading outside. "D-Deidara-nii-san and Sasori are fighting! I need to stop them before they kill each other!" she pulled Neji to the place where Deidara and Sasori were, her hand squeezing his. _Kill each other?_ Neji thought, trying his best to slow down so that Hinata wouldn't feel slow. It was a hard task because she was _seriously_ slow. He was practically walking.

Hinata slammed the door open. The two had already started, not a scratch or bruise on them. To hide the fact that they were from Akatsuki, they reduced it to a fist fight. "G-Guys! Don't fight!" Hinata took a step forward, but Neji told her to stay. "Wait." He said.

Deidara reached for a kunai that somehow made its way into his pocket. "Deidara. No." Sasori said. Neji didn't need to know that they had weapons. "Shut up! We fight to the best of our ability until one of us is dead!" Neji held on to Hinata's hand. "Why does he have a kunai?" he asked.

Sasori did the same, the two of them ran towards each other, the kunai in their hands. Hinata let out a small gasp, worry etched all over her face. It was clear that the two of them would hit each other and that blood would be shed. Knowing that Hinata couldn't take it, Neji ran out to stop them. "Neji-nii-san!" Hinata shrieked.

Blood stained the grass, Deidara and Sasori staring wide-eyed at Neji, who was bleeding from two wounds on his stomach and back. "Neji-nii-san! Neji-nii-san!! Wh-Why did you-" Hinata began to cry as he coughed out blood. "Damn…" he cursed. Hinata was kneeling down beside him. "Hinata…" Sasori started. She ignored him. "Neji-nii-san… Why did you do that?" She asked. "I… I didn't want them to kill each other. It's better that only one of us dies than two…" Hinata slapped him. "You're not dying! You just need a hospital!" she said, her voice shaking.

"Hinata… I'm sorry." Neji closed his eyes, the sound of Hinata calling his name fading. "Wait! N-Neji-nii-san! Neji-nii-san…!"

_(Neji-nii-san…)_

Neji woke up with a start. The sudden movement hurt. He cursed, trying to sit up. "N-Neji-nii-san… D-Don't, you should stay still!" Hinata leaned over him, trying to make him lay down. She sat down on the chair beside the bed when he stopped protesting. "…I… I'm alive?" He asked. Hinata held his hand. "I'd bring you back and kill you myself if you did…" the two laughed, despite his hurting side.

"Where are Deidara and Sasori?" Neji asked. Hinata looked down. Right now she was angry at those two. "They're waiting outside." She grumbled. Neji gave her a confused look. "… Are you mad?" he asked. Hinata nodded. "Why?" Hinata suddenly pounded her fist on the bed. "They… They hurt you, that's why! Wh-Why wouldn't I be mad?" she half-yelled. Neji chuckled. "Don't be. I brought that upon myself." Hinata started to cry. "B-But… Th-They shouldn't be fighting at all!" she sobbed.

Neji wiped her tears away. "Don't cry. I'm okay. What they did doesn't matter anymore." He said. Hinata hugged him.

Sasori calmly walked in, ignoring the death glare Hinata was giving him. "Hinata, Deidara needs to talk to you." He said. Hinata let go of Neji. "What does he want?" she asked. "He's leaving." Sasori opened the door and followed her with his eyes as she walked out.

"Deidara-nii-san?" Hinata walked out into the hall. A small daisy was held in front of her face. She looked to her left and saw Deidara, a small smile on his face. "Hey." He said. Hinata gently placed the flower in her hand and looked at it. "…You were the one…?" She started. Deidara nodded. He pulled her into a kiss, wrapping his arms around her tightly. "I have to go." He said when they parted. Hinata hugged him back. "W-Wait…" she whispered.

Deidara had a regretful look on his face. "Hinata. I'm sorry for what I did. I'm sorry for everything I did to you. I'm sorry for killing Mom and Dad." He felt her stiffen at the last part. "… I'm sorry I ran away in the first place. I'm sorry that… I'm sorry that I fell in love with you and… caused you so much trouble." He squeezed her tightly. "If I hadn't done any of those things... I bet you'd be happier." He kissed her. "I'm sorry for that." He kissed her again and again, every time saying an 'I'm sorry'.

Hinata stopped him. "D-Deidara-nii-san…I… I don't want you to leave…" She said. Deidara tilted her head up and kissed her passionately. "I don't want to leave you." He said, leaning his head against hers. "But I can't stay here. I'm sorry." Hinata began to cry as he let go of her and walked away. "P-Please…! D-Don't go!" she started. Deidara only glanced back at her as he left through the front door.

Sasori wrapped his arms around her when she stepped forward. "Let him go." He said. Hinata fell limp, the only thing preventing her from falling Sasori's grip on her. She cried.

Slowly, Sasori had her stand up and lean against the wall. "Hinata…" he sighed, wiping the tears away with his sleeve. Suddenly, Hinata hugged him tightly. He returned her hug, gently stroking her hair. "Sasori…" she whispered when she was able to talk. "…If… If you're going to leave… Do so now, while I can still take it…" She only hugged him tighter, making it clear that she didn't want him to.

"Why? It's obvious that if I leave you'll probably kill yourself crying." Sasori said, laughing a bit. Hinata looked at him. "I would _not_!" Sasori laughed again, taking her into the room Neji was in. "Hey, Neji! Can I take Hinata home? She cried a lot and I think she needs to." Neji looked confused, glancing at Hinata. "Eh?" she squeaked as Sasori pushed her out of the room. "Uh… I guess so. I'll be fine alone." Neji said. Hinata tried to look back, but Sasori kept pushing her. "A-Ah… Neji-nii-san!" The door closed.

Sasori held her hand as they walked out of the hospital. "S-Sasori! Wh-Why did you do that?" Hinata asked, a little annoyed. "I'm taking you home." He said smoothly, gently squeezing her hand. Reluctantly, she followed him. "…I wanted to stay there with Neji-nii-san…"she muttered. "Hinata." Sasori said. She looked at him and suddenly he pressed his lips against hers. "I'm taking you home." He said firmly. Hinata nodded.

When they reached the house, Hinata went upstairs to change out of her dress (from last night's dance). Sasori followed her, but changed out of his blood-stained dress shirt (He helped carry Neji to the hospital).

"Sasori, what do you want for dinner?" Hinata called. She was finished changing and had already walked downstairs, into the kitchen. Sasori frowned. He had gotten so slow at changing clothes ever since he got here. That, or she's always been a quick clothes-changer. Like in those magic shows. Silently, he walked downstairs, wrapping his arms around Hinata.

"What do you want for dinner?" She asked again, learning to control her blush whenever Sasori did that. "You." He whispered in her ear. "Something edible, please." Hinata sounded a bit annoyed. He hugged her tighter, kissing her neck. "I'm serious. I want you for dinner." He turned her so that she was facing him and kissed her. Of course, he'd slip his tongue in, letting it play with hers a bit before parting to move to her neck. Hinata tried to push him off, but he only pinned her arms to the counter as he leaned over her.

"G-Get off…!" She squeaked. "No." He murmured into her shoulder, slipping off her shirt. Hinata softly moaned, unintentionally right beside his ear. The phone began to ring, but he ignored it. His hand glided down her body to slide off her shorts. Then, he thought about his location. They were in the kitchen. Without another word, he carried her bridal style up the stairs.

"Wh-Where are you taking me!?" Hinata asked, trying to get him to stop. "Where do you think? My bedroom." Sasori chuckled. "Wh-Why!?" Hinata turned red. "Psh. Obviously." He threw her onto the bed and picked up where he left off. "W-Wait! I-I can't! _We_ can't!" Hinata held back a moan as he gently played with her breasts. "I don't care." Sasori leaned down to her chest, kissing each breast as he traveled down to her stomach.

Then he remembered that he was still fully clothed. Carelessly, he took off his shirt that he took so much care to put on a few seconds ago. He leaned down and sucked on her neck. "Moan for me, please?" he whispered in her ear. Hinata shook her head. "W-We shouldn't be doing this…" she said softly. "I told you I didn't care." Sasori was about to remove her underwear, but Hinata grabbed his arm. "Please…" She pleaded. "I… I'm not… I'm not ready." She covered her chest with one arm as the other held on to 

Sasori's hand. "I'm only 16. I don't want to think about this until I'm older. So please, just tell me what you want me to cook for dinner."

Sasori frowned. Sighing, he pulled her into a kiss and hugged her. "Fine. We'll do what _you_ want this time." To tell the truth, he was mortally pissed off. The tight hug proved that. Then he let go, giving her a shirt since hers was in the kitchen. He didn't bother putting on a shirt. Instead, he followed her down to the kitchen.

He realized that she was only wearing a big shirt, no shorts. Smirking, he walked to fingers up her lower back as he walked by her. She squeaked, turning around to glare at him. He laughed, taking a seat at the table. It was quite obvious that he was staring at her, and it was quite obvious that she felt nervous under his gaze. And what made things worse was that she was only wearing a big shirt.

"S-So… what do you want for dinner?" she asked awkwardly, trying to smile. It came out as an awkward smirk-resembling crack of the mouth. Sasori laughed at her attempt. "Anything you cook is fine. But I bet you taste better." He licked his lips. Hinata nodded, about to get started on cooking. But Sasori wrapped his arms around her. "S-Sasori… I can't cook like this…" She said. "Then don't cook at all. I just want to hold you." He said. She had to admit, that was a little romantic, what he said. She blushed, turning off the stove.

Hinata turned around and hugged him. Cursing, Sasori growled, "If you let me hug and kiss you everywhere, and when I hug you, you hug me back, then why do you refuse to let me be your boyfriend?" he leaned on her. Hinata hugged him tightly. "B-Because… I… I don't know… I don't know if it's right." Sasori kissed her. "'If it's right'? Are you kidding me? Of course it's right! I love you, and it's becoming pretty clear that you love me, so what's the problem?"

She shook her head. "No… I-I mean…" She trailed off. Sasori told her to continue. "… W-Well… Y-You're from Akatsuki. And… Th-They can actually come and kill you if you don't return to them." She whispered, tears beginning to fall out of her eyes. "I don't care about them anymore. I have you now." Shaking her head again, she explained further. "I-I know that's how you feel but… I'm afraid." She paused. "Afraid of what?" Sasori asked gently.

"I… I'm afraid that… I'm afraid that you'll one day feel differently! I'm afraid that one day, Akatsuki will force you to choose them instead of me!" Suddenly her voice became a low whisper. "I'm afraid that you won't love me anymore…" She looked up at him, tears rolling down her cheeks. Sasori leaned down and kissed her. He declared the two of them boyfriend-girlfriend. No, consider them married. That's what he thought, anyway.

As he was kissing her, he heard the phone ring. Slowly, he picked up the phone and saw on the caller ID 'Hospital'. He answered it with a low "Mm?" with his lips still pressed against Hinata's lips.

"Hey, Sasori? Can you bring me a magazine or something? It's so boring at a hospital! I can't believe Hinata had to go through this for three whole days! Oh, better yet, bring me my backpack-" Sasori hung 

up the phone as Neji was talking. Throwing the phone across the counter, he returned his arms around Hinata.

When they parted for air, Hinata asked, "Who was it on the phone?" Sasori put the carelessly thrown phone onto its charger. "Neji's bored at the hospital. He wants us to bring him his backpack or a magazine or something." Hinata nodded. "Maybe tomorrow… I'm sleepy." She rubbed her eyes, walking up the stairs. Sasori grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him. "I'll sleep with you tonight." He said, kissing her head. "Yeah…"

Making sure she was upstairs and in her room, Sasori did something that he hasn't done in a long time:

He danced a victory dance.

_(With Deidara)_

Deidara let himself into the base, carelessly kicking his back up the stairs. He followed it, kicking it into his room when he reached it. It was late at night and the other Akatsukis were either asleep or on late-night missions. The only ones who didn't sleep were the Leader and Flower-chan (Or Konan, as the leader didn't like them calling her by). He didn't bother to change, he just plopped onto his bed and sighed. Planning to fall asleep, he pulled the covers over himself and closed his eyes.

Suddenly, Pein waltzed into the room and ripped the covers from the bed. "Hey, when's Sasori coming back?" he asked, ignoring the death glares Deidara was throwing at him. "Ew, why's your shirt all bloody? You get in a fight?" He gave him a disgusted look. Deciding to ignore his leader, Deidara turned around in bed and tried to fall asleep. Of course, being the leader, Pein jumped on the bed and kicked Deidara off of it.

"Tell me, or I'll assign you to ten billion other mission!" Pein threatened. Deidara looked at him, annoyed. "Sasori's not coming back. And my shirt's all bloody because I had to help carry my brother to the hospital." Pein frowned. "Now what are you doing helping people?" he asked. "He's not 'people' he's my brother. And of course I'd help him."

Pein scratched his head. "Ugh… I never thought I'd actually…" he trailed off. Deidara looked confused. "Well, you see, I had this servant kid, his name was Tobi, and I promised him to be moved up to your level if the opening arose. And, well, now there's an opening. And a promise _is_ a promise… and that opening is Sasori's old position, your partner."

Deidara grimaced. "You can't be talking about that orange-masked freak whose been following you around every day." Pein nodded. "Aw man! You can't do this to me!" Deidara yelled, resembling a teenager yelling at his mother. "I can." Pein answered. "You won't!" Deidara protested. "I _will._" An evil smile cracked its way across Pein's face as he left the room. Deidara let out a loud yell of anger.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAGH JFKML D;JVM,SA.FJC M,D.CJCJ!!"

_(Deidara childhood Special pt 2)_

As he walked down the halls of the Akatsuki Academy, Deidara opened the door to him and Sasori's room. He plopped on his own bed and sighed.

"You're soaking wet. What happened to you?" Sasori asked. "I… I saw my sister." Deidara answered. "Oh. The one you described in your essay?" Sasori flipped a page in the book he was reading. "…yeah." Deidara pulled off his shirt and shorts and changed into new pajamas and underwear (and whatnot).

Sasori looked at him as he crawled into bed. "You think I can meet her someday? She sounds really nice." He asked. Deidara shook his head. "Naw. Not now, anyway. I made her a total wreck." He closed his eyes. "How 'bout later?" Sasori tried. "Maybe."

Smiling, Sasori put the book on the table beside his bed. "G'night." He said. "Night." Deidara grumbled as Sasori turned off the lamp.

_(With Hinata)_

She stared out the window lazily as the teacher droned on about 'blah, blah, blah, math' (quote/unquote). At the end of class she went straight home only to stare out the window in her room. Maybe she was hoping for something. No, not maybe, she was. She was hoping that Deidara would come back like he did last night.

Sighing, she went back to her bed. She buried herself in the sheets and pillows, thinking about Deidara. It wasn't until Neji came into her room that her thoughts were on something else.

"Hinata?" He said in a low voice. "Hm…?" Hinata didn't even turn to look at him. "Are you okay…?" he asked. Nodding, Hinata turned away from Neji on the bed. "…Are you sure?" gently, he placed a hand on her shoulder. She shook it off. "Just leave me alone…" She whispered. Frowning, Neji moved under the blanket and hugged her tightly. "if I did, you'd cry." He said. "I would not!" Hinata said defensively.

"Then what are you doing now?" Neji wiped one of her tears away. "…I'm sweating through my eyes!" Hinata gently hit him, laughing a bit at her lame excuse. Neji laughed a bit too. They stayed like that for a little while before Neji felt her fall asleep in his arms. Then he relaxed and fell asleep as well.

_(End of Chapter)_

Soo… this story's coming to an end pretty soon… not in the next chapter, and probably not the one after that, but soon.

_Soon!_


	15. Dating

"Hinata…"

Hinata kept her eyes closed, not feeling like waking up.

"Hinata."

She ignored the voice, moving more towards the warm spot on her bed.

Instead of a voice, someone picked her up and made her stand. She fell on the floor. "God, Hinata, school started two hours ago!" Sasori yelled. Hinata shot up. "Wh-What!? Why didn't you wake me up!?" she squeaked, looking around frantically for her uniform and bag. "I just woke up as well." He ran a hand through his messy red hair and glanced at her. "Oh, and your shirt's open."

Hinata looked down to her shirt and saw that it was. "KYAAH!!" She screamed, quickly closing it over her body. "Wh-What did you-!?" Sasori ignored her and crawled back into the bed. "Aww… It's cold. Hinata, come here and help me warm it up." He said. "DON'T IGNORE ME!!" Hinata found her uniform and bag and placed them on the bed, now searching for new underwear and a bra in the drawer beside the bed. Sasori pulled her onto the bed, ignoring her protests.

"Come on, what's the use of getting ready if you're already late?" he said, pinning her down under his body. He kicked the bag and uniform off the bed. "H-Hey-!" Sasori kissed her. "Stay here with me." He whispered. Hinata sighed. "…Okay." She moved closer to Sasori when he rolled off of her. "I love you." He said, kissing her on the nose. She giggled. "Do you love me too?" he asked, wrapping an arm around her. She nodded. "Uh-huh." they snuggled closer as they began to fall asleep again.

_(With Deidara)_

"Hey, Leader?" Deidara started. "Hm?" Pein didn't look at him when he talked. "Why aren't you mad that Sasori isn't coming back?" he asked. Pein put down the newspaper on his desk and eyed Deidara suspiciously. "Why do you care?" Deidara suddenly had an anger mark on his head. "I _care_ because if you don't force him back, I'll be stuck with that bumbling idiot as my partner!" he yelled, not meaning to raise his voice at his superior.

Pein chuckled. "Relax, Deidara. He's only your partner until Sasori decides to come back. I trust him more than you anyway. If he's not back by the end of the month, we'll get him back, and I'll have my own lackey back. Alright?" he said, Deidara nodded. "Alright." He left the room, sighing happily that he'd finally be rid of that annoying Tobi.

Though, he had to admit, being partners with Tobi was like him being the teacher and Tobi the student. It was fun, but not enough to have the idiot stay. _Oh well… one month from now he'll be out of my hair!_ He walked to his room and closed the door, noticing that the picture of Hinata on his nightstand was gone. _What the-!?_

"Who's the cute girl, Deidara-sempai?" Tobi asked, sitting cross-legged on Deidara's bed. He was eating cookies and leaving crumbs all over the sheets. "Hey!" Deidara ran over to him and grabbed the picture, 

holding it close as he whacked Tobi many times on the head. "Don't touch my things!" he yelled. "S-Sorry! She just looked reeeeeally pretty and-"

"Shut up!" Deidara kicked Tobi off the bed, waving the sheets in the air to get the crumbs off. "Don't come into my room without permission!" he said over his shoulder. Tobi nodded, still munching on the cookie he was eating. "Hey, want one?" he offered Deidara a cookie as he put the sheets back and lay down on the bed. He took the cookie, letting it hang out of his mouth as he chewed.

"Deidara-sempai… you're getting crumbs all over your bed." Tobi said. "Shut up, Tobi." Deidara muttered, closing his eyes. A few minutes passed and Deidara let out a small growl. "Get _out_ Tobi. I need to sleep." He said. Tobi nodded, walking out of the room with his plate cookies.

_(It was the middle of the day though…)_

This time, Hinata woke up before Sasori did. It was surprising, because usually –and actually all the time – Sasori was the one waking her up. But instead of waking him, she stared at him, trying to memorize what he looked like asleep. His arms were wrapped tightly around her, a small smile on his face. She smiled as well, gently resting an arm around him.

His hug grew a little tighter, but not enough to squish her completely. "Morning…" He muttered, yawning. He kissed her lightly on the lips before rolling onto his back. Hinata squeaked when he accidentally carried her so that she was on top of him. He chuckled, kissing her again. "What time is it?" he asked, glancing at the clock. 4:30 pm. "Well, we're on the clock today, aren't we? Slept for a long time, didn't we?" he laughed.

Hinata got off of him and stretched, reaching her arms up to the ceiling. Sasori stood up behind her and stretched too, proving that he was taller. He held her hand and pulled her close to him and kissed her cheek from behind. She smiled. "I'm gonna go take a bath, okay?" she said. Sasori nodded, waving to her as she walked out of the room.

As she started the shower, she took off her clothes as the water started to warm up. Then she made the water flow through to the shower head, stepping in. She sighed as the warm water ran down her skin. When she got used to it, she started to think that it was strange that Sasori didn't say something like –

"I'll take a shower with you, okay?" Sasori's arms wrapped around her, gently trailing kisses down her neck and shoulder. "A-Ah! S-S-Sasori! Wh-What are you doing here!?" She asked, not daring to look back at him. "Expect this kind of thing in our future, Hinata." He turned her around and kissed her, pressing her against the wall. She closed her eyes tightly. She's never seen Sasori completely wet and naked before and didn't plan to do so now.

Though, she was sure that he was seeing her completely wet and naked right now. "S-Sasori, th-this is so-!" he kissed her again, this time slipping his tongue in her mouth. They parted, both of them panting softly. "W-We can't be doing this kind of thing in the shower!" She shouted. "Why not?" Sasori's face leaned close to hers. "You look hot, all soaking wet and…" his hand trailed over her body, making her shiver. "… sexy." He licked her lovingly on the cheek. "Ah…" His hand was a little too close to her spot than she liked.

He started playing with her breasts, kissing her again and again. "N-Not… Not in the sh-shower…!" She stuttered. Suddenly, he stopped. "So you want me to do you somewhere else?" he asked, smirking. Letting out a small sigh, Hinata held his arm and stepped aside. "Well, I certainly don't want my first to be in a shower. Alright?" she took the shampoo and rubbed it through Sasori's hair. "Shower time is shower time." She said, giggling that irresistible giggle. "_Fine_…" Sasori planted soft kisses on her face as she lathered and rinsed his hair.

When they finished with their shower, he wrapped the two of them in the same towel, their bodies pressed tightly together. Hinata turned dark red. "A-Ah! S-Sasori!" She somehow turned her back to him in the towel, covering her face. Has he no shame? "What's wrong?" he asked. "Y-Your… I-It's touching my…" she turned so red it was almost a leading cause of a fever.

Sasori laughed. "Don't be embarrassed about it! It's going to be inside you one of these days…" Of all the things he said; of all the things he's done to her and implied using sexual arousal, that statement was one of his dirtiest ones. "Sasori!" She shouted. Sasori wrapped the towel around her and went to get his own towel. "Yeah, yeah."

Hinata made him change in his own room. Then they went to visit Neji in the hospital, bringing him salvation from his boredom.

"Neji-nii-san!" Hinata happily skipped to Neji's bedside, kissing him on the cheek. "What's up? Why are you so happy?" he asked. "No reason. Here's your backpack!" Hinata placed the bag on his bed. "Oh, thanks. Did you guys just get back from school? Why aren't you two in your uniform?" Neji noted their clothing. "Oh, we slept in so we decided to sleep the rest of the day." Sasori answered. "That's terrible! You shouldn't skip school like that!"

Hinata told him to calm down. "We'll go back to school tomorrow, right Sasori?" she assured, glancing at Sasori. "I don't know…" he felt a sudden pain in his shin and nodded. "R-Right…" he said, clutching his leg. "Okay… If you say so…" Neji looked at them suspiciously before rummaging through his backpack.

Sasori tapped Hinata's shoulder. "Hey, should we tell him?" he whispered to her. "Tell him what?" Hinata asked. "That we're…" He gently kissed her cheek. "Oh." Hinata turned to Neji.

"Neji-nii-san, me and Sasori are going out now." Neji froze. "What?" he asked. "Me," Hinata pointed to herself. "And Sasori," she held Sasori's hand. "Are _dating_." She gently pulled Sasori closer to her. Neji took a second to soak it in. _Sasori…Hinata…Dating…They are… AAGH!!_ "No way!" he yelled. Hinata only nodded. "Do you want me to prove it?" Neji shook his head. "You already kissed her before you two were going out…" he thought a second. "You know what, I'll just believe you. Hinata wouldn't lie… to me."

Sasori hugged Hinata. "Come on… I wanna prove it to you! I know, I'll have Hinata kiss me. Not me kissing her, the other way around." Sasori said, gently squeezing her. Neji shook his head. "No, I believe you." Sasori whispered something in her ear. She shook her head. Sighing, Sasori looked defeated. "Okaaay… I'll do as _he_ says…"

An hour passed, making visiting hours nearly over for the day. "Neji-nii-san, visiting hours are almost over. We have to go now." Hinata said. "Oh, really? Okay… See you tomorrow then, Hinata." He hugged her. "Bye, Neji. See you later." Sasori waved before the door closed to the room.

"I hope Neji-nii-san gets well soon." Hinata sighed as they walked down the sidewalk. "Yeah… but I'll miss my time alone with you in the house when he does get better." Sasori wrapped an arm around her. She leaned on his shoulder as they walked. "…I also miss Deidara-nii-san." Sasori gently squeezed her. "Hm." He grunted.

_(Later)_

It was late at night and Hinata was alone in her bed. She didn't really mind, except for the fact that it was a little colder than other nights. Something was missing… Ah, Sasori wasn't there. Wondering why, Hinata turned her body to face the door. Maybe he'd come in any second now…

Silence.

Sitting up, Hinata looked around her room to see if he was hiding anywhere. Not that he was, it just helped to look. Somehow. Then she realized that he was sleeping in his own room tonight. Why was he in his room? Slowly, she stood up and walked out into the hallway. She peeked into his room and saw that he was reading.

He didn't notice her, so she walked into his room and closed the door. She saw him scoot over a bit so that she could lay down. She did, waiting until he was done reading to pull the covers over her. Sasori wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close to them. "What are you doing here?" he asked, chuckling softly. Hinata put a hand on his arm and smiled. "It was cold in my room." She snuggled closer to him. "Why weren't you there?" she asked.

Sasori kissed her neck. "I was reading." He said. "Reading what?" Hinata yawned. "Something." Sasori turned off the lamp. "Go to sleep." He whispered, moving so that he was on top of her. When he was sure that she was asleep, he murmured softly in her ear, "I'm going to marry you someday."

The book he was reading was actually a small wedding planner. He was filling it out mentally in his mind just for fun. Gently, he kissed her cheek and fell asleep.

_(With Neji-nii-san)_

The doctor told him that he could leave tomorrow. Neji thought that he could leave today –he felt a lot better now. He started to change into his normal pair of clothes and sat on the bed. _Thank god that I had a change of clothes in my backpack…_ he sighed. He thought about Hinata. She's dating Sasori now… damn. He lost.

Oh well. They were meant for each other, Sasori and Hinata. It's not like he had a chance, either, Hinata and himself. He got up and put on the backpack. He left the hospital and began walking home. On his way, he saw the school. As he walked past, he wondered if Hinata and Sasori were there.

The house was quiet when he arrived. He figured that it would be on his way here; Sasori and Hinata were at school. He walked up the stairs and into his room. It didn't change a bit while he was gone. Throwing the backpack onto the bed, he walked back out and made his way to the kitchen to make himself something to eat. But on his way, he noticed someone sleeping in Sasori's room. Slowly, he opened the door to look.

Neji turned red at what he saw. Sasori was still sleeping… wait, something –no, some_one_- was under him. Looking closer, he saw that it was Hinata. He held back a gasp, covering his mouth. _D-D-Did they _do_ it last night!?_ He couldn't allow that. Nuh-uh, no way. Shaking his head, Neji slowly closed the door, leaning against the wall and sliding to the floor.

He rubbed his temples and thought for a moment. _Okay… Don't jump to conclusions. I'm sure that Hinata had enough self control to stop him and they just ended up sleeping in the same bed. NO!! Sasori didn't even assault her in that way! Th-They're going out, so it's common to sleep in the same bed, right?_ He paused. _BUT THIS IS HINATA WE'RE TALKING ABOUT! I'm just not comfortable with her going out with Sasori! What if he takes advantage of her!?_

A mental picture of a devious-looking sex-craving Sasori popped into Neji's mind. And a mental picture of a helpless, still-cute-looking, sexually-harassed-by-Sasori Hinata was under the devious-looking sex-craving Sasori. _GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!! HINATA!! I'LL SAVE YOU!!_

Just as he was about to stand up to (cough Kill) Sasori, the door to his room opened. "Ah! Neji-nii-san! You're back!" Hinata smiled at him as she walked out into the hallway. "…Are you alright?" Neji looked like he was about to kill someone. "What were you doing in there!?" he asked, gripping Hinata's shoulders. "I-I was sleeping…" She answered, thinking that Neji should spend a little more time at the hospital. He was acting pretty strangely. "Is that all you did!? Sleep!?" he asked worriedly. Hinata nodded.

Sighing, Neji relaxed. "Sasori didn't do anything to hurt you, did he?" Hinata thought a moment. She knew that he wouldn't handle it if she said Sasori took a shower with her and did… those things. "Uh… Not last night, no." It wasn't a total lie, right? "Okay. If you say so. But just say the word and I'll beat the living crap out of him, alright!?" Neji gripped her shoulders tightly again. "O-Okay, but I don't think that need will ever be… needed. I'm going to go take a bath, alright?" Hinata gently shrugged off Neji's hands.

"I'll keep guard, okay?" Neji huffed, standing firmly beside the door. "…Whatever you say…" Hinata said, taking a towel and going into the bathroom.

Sasori walked out of his room, rubbing his eyes. "Oh, Neji. You're back. Welcome home." He said sleepily. "Did you do anything to Hinata last night?" Neji asked suspiciously. "Hm?" Sasori looked 

confused for a second. "I kissed her, if that's what you mean." He said. "How long?" Neji asked. "What?" Sasori scoffed. "I don't know! Why do I need to answer that anyway!?" Neji glared at him. "No sex!" he yelled. "What the hell!?"

The two kept arguing about random topics that Neji brought up until Hinata finished her bath. She walked out into the hallway. "…Did I miss something?" She asked, inching towards her room. "Great! Now look, I missed taking a shower with her! Thanks a lot, Neji!" Sasori shouted. "You take a _shower_ with her!? You bastard!" Neji yelled. "So what if I do? That's none of your business, asshole!"

"G-Guys… D-Don't fight!" Hinata started. She was ignored. "It's plenty my business! She's my sister!" Neji argued. "She's _my_ girlfriend! Butt out!" Sasori stomped over to Hinata and grabbed her arm. "Who do you love more!? Me or Neji!?" he asked angrily. "Are you kidding me!? I can't choose!" she said. "Yes you can! Choose, Hinata!" Neji nodded. "You can't be serious! You're asking me to choose between my boyfriend and my brother!"

"Fine, as guys, who do you choose?" Sasori asked. Hinata stopped to think. "Well… wouldn't it be obvious that I'd pick my own boyfriend in that department?" she glanced at Neji. "Okay, what if I wasn't your boyfriend?" Sasori glared at Neji. "Neither of you! Now if you don't mind, I need to change into clothes so that I can dry off!" Hinata walked to her room and slammed the door closed.

Sasori turned to Neji. "Great, you made her mad." He said. "_I _made her mad!? _You're_ the one who brought up the question!" Neji protested. "SHUT UP! YOU _BOTH_ MADE ME MAD!"Hinata shouted at them. They both shut up. Growling, Neji stormed to his room and slammed the door. Sasori shrugged and made his way to the bathroom to go take a shower.

When he finished, he changed and went to Hinata's room. "Hina-chan." He said, closing the door. "Go away. I'm mad at you." Hinata grumbled, pouting as she sat cross-legged on the bed. Sasori sat behind her, both legs on each side of her waist. He wrapped his arms around her and made her lean on him. "You're cute when you're mad." He said, his hands under her shirt and wrapped her stomach. "Hmph!" Hinata ignored him.

A sudden burst of laughter came from Hinata as Sasori started tickling her sides. "You're ticklish too? You're so cute!" he laughed. Hinata jumped off of his lap and crawled quickly to the other side of the bed. "D-Don't do that!" she squeaked, covering her sides with her arms. Sasori crawled over to her. "Why not?" he asked, moving on top of her. "B-Because I'm…" he leaned down and kissed her lovingly. It lasted for a seemingly long time before he parted for air. "You're what?" he asked smoothly, his lips just above hers. She let out a small sigh. "I'm…" She felt embarrassed that she forgot. "That's what I thought." He kissed her again, this time letting his tongue in.

"A-Ah… Sasori… w-we forgot about s-school again today…" Hinata said as he moved down to her neck. "We're never going back to school if it means not doing this…" Sasori murmured, cupping her breast through her shirt. "I love you." He said, kissing her lips again. "Mm…" Hinata wrapped her arms around him. Sasori wanted her to say 'I love you' back, but kisses were all the same. He'll get her to say it later. She's actually responding to his kiss this time!

Hinata sighed contentedly when they parted. "Sasori…" She whispered. "Hm?" He gently nosed her cheek. "I… I've never felt that way… when we've kissed before…" she closed her eyes. Sasori smiled. "Felt like what?" he asked. "Felt like… I wanted more… I felt like I never wanted it to stop…" She pulled him closer to her. "I want you to kiss me again." She whispered. "Good." Sasori kissed her passionately, enjoying the feeling of her kissing back.

_(Deidara and Sasori 3 years before YTBT)_

"Hey, Deidara. Where are we going?" Sasori (13) asked as the two traveled through the trees of outer Konoha. "We got a mission, remember? To get some kind of drink for the Leader… or something." Deidara paused. "I don't know! You're the one who remembers stuff!" he yelled. Sasori sighed. "I don't _want_ to be the smart one of the group…" he said. "Well, we're supposed to get something for someone and we can only find it here in Konoha!" Deidara shouted, slamming into a pole when he jumped from a tree.

He slid down to the street below and immediately heard the familiar sounds of the Konoha streets. He fell off the pole and cursed, rubbing his face. "Wh-What was that all of a sudden!?" he yelled at the pole. Sasori landed beside him. "Good job, Deidara. You got us in." he said, dusting himself off. Deidara looked confused for a second then grinned, flexing a nonexistent arm muscle. "Well, I _am_ awesome." He said.

Sasori ignored him and began walking down the streets. Deidara followed him. "Hey! Don't go on ahead!" He yelled. "Then hurry up!" Sasori said.

"We were supposed to get some kind of special drink for Pein…" Sasori read off of a piece of paper. "You knew the mission and didn't tell me!?" Deidara asked angrily. "Don't get all pissy, I just realized I had it in my pocket is all." Sasori scratched his head. "Ah… over here."

Sasori walked down the street then made a left, then a right, then ran straight. "Sasori! Wait a minute! I just said not to go ahead!" Deidara yelled. "Here we are…" Sasori breathed, looking up at the building.

Deidara rammed into Sasori, who crashed into the fence when he did. "Ow! Why'd you do that!?" he asked. "I told you not to go ahead of me! I'm the team leader!" Deidara huffed. "Team leader? We're only two people!" Sasori protested, using the fence to help himself up. Deidara looked up at the house and realized that it was the Hyuga household.

"Sasori, you got the wrong place. This is my old house." He said. Sasori shook his head. "No, see, Hyuga-san made a deal with Pein or his relative a long time ago. He made something for Pein and now we're here to retrieve it." He explained. Deidara stared at the house, remembering everything that happened in that house before and after he ran away.

Backing away a step, Deidara said, "Sasori, I gotta hide." He ran behind a bush. Sasori gave him a confused look as he walked up to the door. "Why?" he asked. "I'll explain later. Just get the item and we'll leave!" Sasori nodded and knocked on the door.

Hiashi answered the door. He gave Sasori an odd look. "I'm here to get it." He said plainly. "Who are you?" Hiashi asked. "I'm the person who's going to kill you if you don't hand over Pein's item." Sasori glared at him. Nodding, Hiashi went back inside to get whatever it was that he and Pein agreed upon. A few seconds later, he returned with a small package. "It's in there. Please be careful with it." With that, Sasori gave a small smile, waving good-bye as he left the yard.

He looked for Deidara behind the bush but he wasn't there. So he walked around the house until he found him staring into a window. "Deidara? What are you doing-!?" Deidara kicked him, making him fall to the ground. "Shut up! I'm watching my sister!" Deidara hissed, glancing at him. "Your sister?" Sasori moved up and moved Deidara over to look through the window.

Hinata just sat on her bed, staring out the window, yet she didn't see Deidara or Sasori. She was staring into space. Deidara felt worried about her, hoping that she _would_ notice him so that she wouldn't be so depressed-looking. "Sasori, we gotta go." Deidara said, pulling Sasori's arm. "But she's so pretty!' It's be a shame _not _to look at her!" Sasori protested. "No."

Deidara walked silently out of the garden and onto the street. "I can't believe someone that beautiful was your sister!" Sasori laughed. Deidara stared at the ground as he leaned against the wall. "Deidara?" Sasori gave him a slightly worried look. "She's like that because of me…" Deidara murmured. "What?" Sasori asked. "Hinata. She's… depressed because of me." Deidara had a sad look on his face for a minute.

"Deidara, let's go back to Akatsuki Academy, okay?" Sasori put a shoulder on Deidara's shoulder. "Hinata will be fine. Let's just go back." Deidara nodded, following Sasori as they made their way back to the woods outside of Konoha.

"…I wonder what the leader wants with that box." Deidara thought aloud. "Yeah… maybe he's taking drugs." Sasori said. "Hm."

_(End of Chapter)_

Hey… We'll be updating Kisame's Corner soon… just not now, but soon… :D


	16. An Unhealthy Obsession

Deidara woke up feeling a heavy weight on his back. He tried to get up but found that he couldn't. "What the…" He turned his head slightly and saw that Tobi was sitting cross-legged on top of him. "Morning, sempai." He said happily, staring at Hinata's picture again. "Tobi! Get off!" Deidara shoved Tobi off the bed and sat down. "What are you doing here!?" he asked. Tobi held up the picture of Hinata. "I cannot get over how pretty she looks! Jeez, look at those eyes! That long flowing hair! Say, do you have another picture of-"

Deidara kicked Tobi in the face. "No. Get out." He growled. "Aww… I wanna see Hinata. Can I?" Tobi asked. "No. Go away." Deidara pushed Tobi out of his room. "Later then?" Shaking his head, Deidara gave Tobi one last shove out of his room before slamming the door in his face. "Don't bother me unless we have a mission, alright?" he called through the door.

"Oh, speaking of missions…" Tobi started. Deidara opened the door a crack to listen.

"Leader-sama wants us to bring Sasori back to Akatsuki." Tobi said.

"…TELL ME THIS SHIT SOONER, TOBI!!" Deidara kicked Tobi on the back.

_(Bring Sasori Back…)_

"Let's go on a date today." Sasori said. It was his first waking thought of the day. "What? No, we have school. It's Wednesday." Hinata stretched her arms across the bed. That was her first action of the day. Sasori quickly wrapped her arms around her while her hands were out. "That's not fair! I want to spend the whole day with you and you tell me we can't because of school!? That's bullcrap and you know it!" he rolled around the bed with Hinata in his arms. "S-Sasori!"

Suddenly he stopped. "Hmm?" he smiled at Hinata. "If we don't have an education, then we can't get a job. And if we can't get a job, we can't live on our own. And if we can't live on our own, we can't-" Sasori let out a dramatic gasp. "Then we can't have sex every night! That is a big problem –no, a _huge_ problem!" Hinata gave him an unbelievable look. "N-Not what I was talking about, but if it'll get you to school, I accept it!" she said.

Sasori carried her to the bathroom. "We need to get there early! I'll take a shower with you!" he said frantically. "U-Um… It's not required to be there early-!" Sasori started taking off his shirt as Hinata blushed and turned away. Suddenly, he was still, just standing there and letting the water run. Wondering what happened, she glanced at him only to find that he was wrapping his arms around her.

"As if I'd actually freak out about that." He said, slowly sliding off Hinata's shirt. "Did you forget that I came from Akatsuki? School is nothing to me." His hands glided over her body, taking off her pants. He was surprised that Hinata wasn't protesting. "Yeah but… you need an education that doesn't say killing is alright." Her underwear fell to the floor. Sasori stayed silent. He pulled her into the shower, kissing her roughly.

"I know killing is wrong. It's just that…" He kept kissing her until she put her hands on his chest. "Just that…?" she asked him to go on. "Well… I can't stop. No matter what, I can't escape shedding blood." 

Hinata gave a worried look. "And I wish it were as simple as just quitting. But it's not." He pressed his body against hers, pinning her against the wall. She put an arm around him. "I know you don't like it… and nothing will change what I did before. But…" Sasori kissed her passionately. He tightly wrapped his arms around her.

"I don't ever want to kill again. Even from the very beginning, killing to me was a very shameful and cruel act, no matter who it is." Sasori leaned his head against hers as he thought for a minute. "This isn't the place or time to talk about my thoughts, huh?" he laughed a little, closing his eyes. Hinata reached for the water faucet and turned it off. She held Sasori's face and kissed him gently. "Then I'll make it the time and place. We'll take a shower later." She wanted to talk to him. She's been waiting to talk to him ever since she's met him and now… she can.

Sasori watched as she stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her. "Come on, we'll talk in my room." She smiled a little at him. "Get dressed first."

Quickly, Sasori changed into a random shirt and a random pair of pants and met Hinata in her room. "Neji-nii-san will want the shower. So we can talk now." Hinata just finished buttoning up her shirt and began putting on her pants. This action was quickly interrupted when Sasori wrapped his arms around her and pulled her onto the bed. "I can't believe you actually think about my feelings!" he said happily, showering her with kisses all over. "At this point in our relationship, I'd think that you thought of me as a sex-crazy boyfriend who only needs your vagina to feel happy!" he laughed.

"I do. It's just that I know you're not." Hinata hugged him back with one arm, the other working on putting on her pants. "But you still think about what I feel, and I love you for that!" Sasori snuggled closer to her, hugging her tighter. "I've wanted to have a good talk with you ever since I first met you. Now's my chance." Hinata shrugged.

Sasori kissed her passionately, leaning towards her to deepen it. "You turn me on _so_ much…" He whispered, leaning his forehead on hers. Hinata laughed. "So much for a serious conversation!" she pecked him on the cheek before actually buttoning up and zipping up her pants. Sasori smiled. "I love you." He kissed her. Hinata paused, then smiled as well.

"…I love you too."

_(I love you too.)_

Deidara groaned as Tobi pointed out yet another earthly feature of the woods outside Konoha. Why he let Tobi talk him into actually walking through the forest was a reason he couldn't exactly find. He glanced at Tobi occasionally to check if he'd accidentally fallen into a ditch or antagonized by a wild animal. Most of the time he wasn't, so for an actual ten minutes he focused more on his own thoughts.

_Bring Sasori back… what a random mission. Leader only told me that he'd give Sasori a month before having to go get him himself, so why… Oh. He must really want his own personal slave back. Well he can have him! I don't want Tobi in my presence any longer!_ Deidara let out a small growl when Tobi accidentally bumped into him. Okay, not bump, more like crash into. And make fall.



"Tobi!" Deidara shouted. "I-I'm sorry, sempai! I wasn't looking where I was going and-" Tobi was cut off by Deidara. "You _never_ look where you're going!" Ignoring his comment, Tobi continued. "I wasn't looking where I was going and tripped on a rock! The evil rock laughed at me and-"

"…Did you just say that the evil rock laughed at you?" Deidara asked. Tobi nodded. "That's it. No more coffee at 11." Deidara said, getting up and dusting himself off. "We need to get to Konoha quick if we want to make it there before sundown." Tobi gasped dramatically. "How will we do that!?" he asked. "…by not walking like _you_ suggested. I don't even know why I listened to you anyway!"

Tobi groaned. "I can't be _that_ annoying to you!" he said. "You're right. You're twice as annoying as you were two days ago." Deidara said. "Awww! You know you'll miss me when I'm gone!" Tobi gushed, poking Deidara on the shoulder. "Yeah. I'll miss _hating_ you. God, you're so annoying and useless that I can't even look at you!"

There was a sudden silence. _Uh oh. Maybe I went too far?_ Deidara glanced back at Tobi. He was standing a few feet behind, staring at the ground. "Uh… Tobi?" Deidara said cautiously. "One day, I'll be leader!" Tobi shouted suddenly, scaring a few birds out of a tree. "What?" Deidara backed away a few steps. "I'll overthrow you're stupid leader and run the organization! I'll be the supreme leader, and you'll all bow down to me! So don't call me useless and freaking annoying!" Tobi stood still for a few seconds.

"Ah… I-I'm sorry… f-forget what I just said… Let's just go and get Sasori-sempai." He scratched the back of his head. "Tobi… are you okay?" Deidara asked. "Yeah. I just got a little… crazy. Just forget I said anything like that." Tobi started walking, past Deidara and ahead on the trail. Deidara eyed him suspiciously as he followed.

"What was all that 'being supreme leader' stuff?" he asked. Tobi didn't answer. "And… all of us bowing down to you. Are you planning on overthrowing the Akatsuki Leader?" Deidara had caught up to him and was trying to keep up with his stride. "It was nothing. All of it was nothing." Was all Tobi said. "You'd better give me some answers. Technically, I'm your superior, and I deserve to-" Suddenly Tobi held a kunai close to Deidara's neck. "It's nothing." He said darkly.

Deidara just stared into what he hoped was an eye under his mask. Sighing, Tobi put down the kunai. "I'm sorry, Deidara-sempai…" he said. "You sure dream big. I like that." Deidara patted his shoulder. Tobi looked at him. "So let's go and get Sasori back, alright?" Deidara grinned. Tobi nodded. "Okay!"

The two quickly changed into casual clothes when they reached the gate.

_(I'LL TAKE OVER AKATSUKI)_

Sasori's eyes widened. _I love you too… she said that… I love you too…_ "I love you." He said again. Hinata gave him a slightly confused look, but said, "I love you too." Sasori felt his heart skip a beat –no, two. He's never felt this happy before. He had the biggest grin on his face. "I _really_ love you." He said. Hinata giggled. "I _really_ love you too." Sasori squeezed her tightly. "Oh my god… you said it!" he gushed, kissing her over and over again.



Hinata hugged him back. "I love you." She never thought saying three words would feel so… so great. "I love you too." Sasori laughed.

"I love you."

"I love you too. Do you love me?"

"Yes, I love you _very_ much."

"_I love you, you love me…"_ (You know this song XD)

Hinata laughed. They kissed softly for a long time. "Let's go out on a date." Sasori said. Hinata cuddled closer to him. "Why?" She asked. "Because we love each other. And because I haven't taken you anywhere ever since we started going out!" Sasori rubbed his face against hers. "We _need_ to go on a date." He helped her get up off the bed. "One that'll end in watching the sunset while sharing a long and passionate kiss." He struck a dramatic pose.

"Well you're the guy, you have to plan the date!" Hinata said, readjusting her shirt. It was all bend and wrinkled, but hey, it was better than nothing. "I know, let's go mess around town! That'll be fun!" Sasori suggested. Hinata shook her head, combing her hands through her hair. "Something not life-threatening. Something simple." She said. Sasori thought a moment. "How about eating somewhere?" he offered. "Sure. Where?"

"Oh, that accursed question… how about we just walk around, see what's there to do and stuff…" Sasori muttered, holding Hinata's hand and pulling her out of the room. "Alright. We can do that." Hinata smiled. "Ah… but is Neji-nii-san at school yet?" she tip-toed over to Neji's room. It was empty. "Well?" Sasori said. "He's not there. So we can go now-"

"Where are you two going?" Neji asked, walking out of the bathroom. "N-Neji-nii-san!" Hinata squeaked. "I just came back from a hospital yesterday. I'm taking the day off." Neji said. "Oh…"

"But you two… you've been skipping school a lot lately." Neji slowly walked to his room. "U-Um… M-Me and Sasori were planning on… going on a date today. Is that okay?" Hinata asked. "Hm. Just be sure to go back to school next week, at least. Alright?" Neji closed the door to his room to change.

Sasori pulled Hinata's arm. "We can go now, right?" he asked, kissing her lightly on the cheek. "Uh… Yeah… I think." Hinata walked down the stairs with him, their arms linked. "Hey… Does Neji wonder why Deidara had to leave?" Sasori asked as they locked the door behind them. Hinata shrugged. "We can just answer him when he asks, right?" she said. "Yeah but… how do you think he'll take it? Do we tell him the whole story or just enough of it so that he won't freak out?" Sasori moved his arm to around her waist.

"…Well… if I told him he was an Akatsuki, wouldn't he think that you were one too? I mean… if we told him that you were in Akatsuki…" Hinata trailed off, clutching the back of his shirt tightly. Sasori frowned. Gently he ran his hand over her arms, kissing her head. "What can Neji do anyway? I'm an Akatsuki and 

he's just a… just a simple person." Sighing, Hinata leaned on his shoulder. "When should we tell him though…?" she asked.

"Just forget about it. Right now, we're going on a date. That's all that should matter to me right now." Sasori danced her down the sidewalk towards the park. He gently tickled her sides and she fell onto the grass. "God, that is so cute…" Sasori said, helping her back up. "I thought I told you to stop doing that!" Hinata said playfully. "You thought wrong." He laughed as she gently hit him.

He gently kissed her. "Hey, when we have kids, what color would their hair be?" he asked randomly. "K-Kids!?" Hinata squeaked. "Yup." Sasori lay down on the grass, making Hinata lie on top of him. "W-Well… I-I think they'd have… a mix of our hair colors…" Sasori thought a moment. "Purple? How unique!" he laughed. His hair was red and hers was blue. "What would we name it if it were a boy?" he asked. "I don't know." Hinata closed her eyes. "Girl?" Sasori wrapped his arms tightly around her. "I still don't know." She sighed. "How many do you want?" he rolled over so that he was on top of her. "Um… two? One would be fine, but I want it to have a younger sibling."

Sasori chuckled. "Then a younger sibling it shall have." He kissed her lightly on the cheek.

-:-

Deidara sighed. They had gotten through the gates easily, and now they were in the busy streets of Konoha. Finding Sasori would be a difficult task. And actually convincing him to go back would be even harder than finding him! Tobi had run off somewhere, leaving Deidara by himself. _Well… Might as well start at the house… Neji's still in the hospital, right?_

Slowly he walked across the yard, and then up to the door. Of course it was locked. Cursing, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a key that he was surprised he didn't throw away yet. Silently he walked around the house. No one seemed to be home. Walking up the stairs, he peered into Sasori's room. Empty. Hinata's room. Nothing. Neji's room… uh oh.

Deidara quickly moved away from the door. Neji was still in his room, working on something. _He's back already!? _He inched towards the staircase and jumped down quickly, running to the door the second he landed.

Neji looked towards his slightly open door when he heard a loud thump. Shrugging it off, he went back to reading his book.

"That didn't work…" Deidara thought he saw Tobi running towards the park. "Tobi?" Deidara followed him. When he was about to walk through the entrance, something grabbed him and moved him back. "Sempai, shh! Sasori-sempai is right there!" Tobi hushed, glancing over at Sasori and Hinata on the grass. Deidara did the same thing, suppressing a low growl of anger.

They kissed, they hugged, they laughed… it made him feel sick. He watched to the point where he could no longer stand it, sitting beside Tobi on the sidewalk. "Sempai? What's wrong?" he asked, turning 

around. Deidara shook his head. "I can't watch anymore. Don't lose them, alright?" he said, letting out a small sigh. Tobi nodded.

"Ooh, is that the pretty girl from the picture? She's so much more beautiful in person!" Tobi commented, blushing a little under his mask. "Yeah… That's Hinata…" Deidara said in a low voice. "Ah… they kissed… are they dating, Sasori-sempai and Hinata-chan?" Tobi asked. "Yup." Deidara closed his eyes and thought for a few minutes.

_What's the point in even trying? Sasori wouldn't go back to Akatsuki even if I cut him to pieces…_ He glanced at Tobi. He was still spying on Sasori and Hinata. "They look so happy together… are you sure that we need to take him back? Hinata-chan would be really sad…" he trailed off, inching closer to the entrance to get a better look. Sighing, Deidara stood up and walked into the park, ignoring the constant protests Tobi whispered loudly to him in a sad attempt to be discreet.

"Sasori." Deidara called. Sasori glanced over to Deidara, not looking surprised at all. "Deidara." He said. Hinata stayed still, trying to prevent the tears from falling out. Deidara looked at her, trying his best not to just run over there and hug her. "The leader wants you back in Akatsuki." He said. "Why?" Sasori asked. "Why not?" Deidara took a step closer. "I don't want to go back." Sasori hugged Hinata tightly. "Can I at least talk to you then?" Deidara started to walk through the woods behind them.

Sasori stood up, telling Hinata to stay there, and followed him. Worriedly, Hinata stared after them until they were out of sight. _Please, both of you come back…_

-:-

"I thought you went back to Akatsuki." Sasori said, jumping over a fallen tree branch. "I did… I was sent on a mission to bring you back." Deidara kept walking until they reached a small clearing. "I'm not going back." Sasori stated. "I understand that." Deidara turned around to face Sasori, a serious expression on his face. "…" Sasori stayed silent. "Now… you might think that this would be majorly emo of me but…" Deidara trailed off. "Go on." Sasori told him.

"Sasori… I want you… to kill me."

Sasori's eyes widened slightly. "Damn, you're right. What the hell. I can't kill you!" he yelled. "Not so loud, I don't want Hinata to hear…" The scary part of this was that Deidara looked utterly serious. "I can't _kill_ you… horribly injure you, sure, but _kill_?" Sasori took a step forward. "…I really can't live anymore." Deidara pointed to his heart. "Here. Stab me right here." He wanted it to stop hurting there.

Gritting his teeth, Sasori yelled, "You think me stabbing it will make it feel better!?" Deidara only smiled sadly. "Do you see any point in me living at all?" Sasori punched Deidara, making him fall to the ground. "What the hell happened to you?" he asked angrily. Deidara simply got up, taking out a kunai from his pocket. He always had one with him. He handed it to Sasori. "Take it." Sasori threw it to the ground.

"You were like a brother to me; My best friend. I looked up to you but now…" Deidara looked down. "Yeah. That's why I'd feel better if you were the one who killed me." He said. Sasori frowned. "I can't kill 

you! I won't! Quit talking like this! Do you know how hurt Hinata would be if you died!?" he said loudly, glaring at Deidara. "Hinata… She'd want a funeral for me when she finds out…" he muttered thoughtfully. Sasori let out a low growl.

"Deidara… What made you change your outlook on life? What about life makes you want to die so badly?" he asked. Deidara smiled faintly. "You." He answered. Seeing his confused look, Deidara continued. "We both fell in love with Hinata… eventually you won her over. I knew that you would the second I tried to kill her." Sasori thought he heard a soft sob from him. "I gave her to you… even though I knew that I needed her…" Deidara shook his head. "But… no matter how many times I kissed her, hugged her…"

Sasori closed his eyes. He didn't want to see Deidara like this. "I made the biggest mistake when I gave up and let you win." Deidara reached for the kunai on the ground, once again putting it in Sasori's hands. "But… I know that… what I did would be best for her…" he tightly gripped his hand. "And deep down –really deep down – All those feelings I had for her… summed up to be an unhealthy obsession with my sister." Sasori tried as hard as he could to stop Deidara from moving the kunai into his chest.

"No!" Deidara thrust the kunai into his heart, Sasori still tightly gripping it. He followed Deidara to the ground, quickly removing the kunai. "Deidara…" he said softly. "Sasori... keep her happy, alright?" For the first time in nine years, Sasori began to cry. "You _idiot!_" He threw the kunai across the clearing, punching the ground in anger. "Why the hell would you…" Something felt empty in his own heart… it felt cold…

Sasori moved his hand to Deidara's face. It was… cold. Cursing, he stood up. "Great. You died. Stupid bastard." He said, his voice shaking. "And I killed you. What the hell am I supposed to say to Hinata, huh!?" without meaning to, he kicked Deidara's side. "…Sorry." He muttered, falling to the ground again.

He didn't notice it until now; a small pool of blood had formed around Deidara's body. Sasori's pants and jacket were soaked in blood. "Ah…" he pressed two fingers together, squishing the blood in between. "Crap." He breathed, getting up again. "An unhealthy obsession… huh?" without another word, he began walking away.

-:- About five minutes earlier -:-

Almost ten minutes had passed. "I wonder where Sasori and Deidara-nii-san are…" Hinata said to herself. "Me too." A person sitting beside her said, nodding. Gasping, Hinata quickly moved back. "Wh-Who are you?" She asked, taking a defensive position.

Tobi looked at her. "I'm Tobi –one of Deidara-sempai's friends." He introduced, smiling under his mask. "T-Tobi…san." Hinata repeated. Tobi nodded. "You're very pretty, Hinata-chan." He commented, happily cupping her face. "Your skin's soft, too." Hinata blushed. "U-Uh… Thank… you…" she said slowly. Tobi moved his mask up a little and kissed her. "Pretty, soft skin, and fun to kiss. What a perfect girl!" he laughed as Hinata turned a darker shade of red.



"U-Um… T-Tobi-san… I-I have a b-boyfriend… p-please don't k-kiss me like that…" she stuttered, scooting away from Tobi a little. "Ah! I'm sorry! I don't know why I did that! I already knew you and Sasori-sempai were going out! Those lips were just so-so tempting!" Tobi apologized. He held Hinata's hands firmly in his. "I _swear_ to never do anything like that to you as long as you are taken!" he said. Hinata laughed. "It's not a big deal, Tobi. I forgive you." She smiled at him.

-:-

"Hinata." Hinata turned around and gasped when she saw Sasori standing there covered in blood. She ran over to him, checking for any injuries. "Sasori! Wh-What happened?" She asked worriedly, looking into his eyes. He had a sad look in them. He gripped her arms tightly. "Don't hate me… please…" he whispered, his voice shaking. Hinata was even more worried now. She gently put a hand on his back. "Where's Deidara-nii-san…?" She asked softly. Sasori held her closer. "I'm sorry…" Hinata felt tears fall onto her shoulder.

_He's… crying…_ It took her a minute to figure things out. Then she gasped. "Th… The blood… I-It's not yours, is it?" she said, her eyes welling up with tears. Sasori nodded. "It's… It's Deidara's." he gripped her tighter as she began to tremble. "D-Did you…?"

Tobi was still sitting on the grass, silently watching the scene unfold. _Deidara-sempai is…_

"Why did you?" Hinata asked. "I didn't mean for it to turn out this way! I-It was just so sudden… He just asked me to do it –I refused and…" Sasori spoke fast. Hinata moved her hand to her side. Without meaning to, she made Sasori think that she was abandoning him. "He… He wanted me to kill him… Really…" he trailed off, hugging Hinata as tightly as he could without hurting her.

"Take me… to where he is…" She had a distant look on her face. Hesitantly, Sasori let go of her to lead her to where Deidara's body was. When Hinata saw him, she fell to the ground a few feet beside the body. "A-Ah…" She started to cry. Sasori wrapped his arms around her, burying his face into her back.

Tobi had followed them, giving a sad look to his new friend. "What do we do with the body, Sasori-sempai?" he asked softly. Sasori let Hinata go, standing up. "Call Neji. We live at this address, go get him, alright?" Sasori scribbled down an address and a small map for Tobi to follow. "He'll know what to do. Just tell him to come to the park immediately." Tobi nodded, leaving the park in a fast-paced walk.

Hinata crawled to Deidara, ignoring the dry blood on the grass. She slowly put a hand on his chest, trying to avoid the spot where the injury was. "D-Deidara-nii-san…" her hand covered her mouth in shock. "W-Wah…" He wasn't leaving for a few days, he wasn't going to suddenly wake up again –he was gone. Sasori sensed that she was about to burst out crying, so he leaned down and hugged her tightly as she cried her heart out. He closed his eyes tightly so that he wouldn't see; he knew that if he did he would start crying as well. Instead, he whispered apologies to her until Neji showed up.

-:- Childhood Special (Fondest Memories) -:-



"Deidara! Hey! We both made it into the High School Division of Akatsuki Academy!" Sasori cheered, giving Deidara a high-five. "Yeah…" he seemed a bit down. Concerned, Sasori patted his shoulder. "What's up?" Deidara sighed. "I dunno… I just suddenly feel a little homesick, y'know?" he said, playing with the small piece of string at the end of his graduation hat. Sasori laughed. "This is home now." He said. "I _know_…"

"It's just that you know you have a sweet younger sister back home, don't you?" Sasori patted Deidara's back happily. "It'll pass." He said. Deidara nodded "Yeah…"

Itachi walked up to the two. "Hey guys, we're all having a celebration party at the hangout. Let's go, we all have to be there!" Deidara and Sasori smiled at each other. "Alright!" Deidara cheered loudly, running ahead of Itachi and Sasori towards the hangout.

When they arrived, Deidara noticed that 'everybody' was referring to everyone in his group. "HEEEEY, EVERYBODY!" He shouted happily, waving a hand in the air. "Congratulations!" everyone cheered, raising their glasses of soda into the air. "To an awesome High School Life!" Pein shouted. "Cheers!" the party was great, lots of food, talking, and somehow getting drunk on soda.

"Ya know, you guys are like –hic- my bestest bestest friends in the whole world…" Deidara slurred. "I a-hic-agree… family and friends –whaddeva! I love you guys!" Sasori said, equally as drunk as everyone else in the room. "Ta a very –burp- very happy family!" Hidan shouted, gulping down an empty cup of soda. Everyone did the same.

Later into the night, everyone was asleep, spread throughout the entire floor. Sasori and Deidara managed to stay awake. "Hey… Hey, Deidara!" Sasori said. "Whazzup, Sori-dude?" Deidara laughed at the nickname. "What was your _greatest_ memory from bein' an elementary school kid?" Sasori asked. "Fondest memory, huh?" Deidara thought a moment.

"I'd say when I first met ya, Sori-dude!" both of them laughed. "Me too! I mean, back then, I was so lost –you're my best buddy, Dei-dude…" they held hands. "Brothers for life!" Both of them raised their hands and laughed. They were still slightly drunk on soda, but it still meant something.

-:- Hinata -:-

The family was at an amusement park today. However, Hinata got lost in the crowd. Desperately, everyone searched for her, asking everyone if they've seen a cute six-year-old with blue hair. Deidara was the most worried. The second he noticed she was gone (which was the second after she went missing) he darted into the crowd to find her.

_Hinata! I'm coming!_ He thought in his mind. He looked everywhere that he thought she was, then at places she wouldn't be caught dead in. He stopped when he heard someone screaming from a place behind one of the stands. Immediately he ran towards the sound, thinking that it sounded familiar. "Hinata!" He shouted, kicking down the door where the sounds were the loudest. Hinata was backed into a corner, surrounded by older kids.



"Leave her alone!" Deidara yelled. "Deidara-nii-san!" Hinata cried. "Who're you? Get outta here! This one's mine!" One kid –he looked like the leader of the group – said, a very smug look on his face. Deidara let out a small growl. "What have you been doing to her?" He asked, stomping towards the kid. "She's very pretty. She belongs to me now, ya hear?"

Deidara punched him. "No she doesn't! Get away from her!" he growled at them. "H-He knocked him down!" Another kid said. "L-Let's get out of here!" the other guys ran out of the small shack and left them. Deidara glanced at the open door and then back at the supposed leader. "Get outta here." Deidara said gruffly. You didn't need to tell him twice. In a second, the kid was out the door.

He felt Hinata hug him from behind. "D-Deidara-nii-san!" She sobbed. Deidara turned around and hugged her tightly. "What happened? One second you were there and the next…" Hinata hugged him back. "I-I don't know! TH-Those people just suddenly grabbed me and-" Her sobs made it hard to understand the rest. "It's okay… I'm here now." Deidara kissed her head.

"From now on, I'll protect you, alright?" he led her out of the small shed. Hinata nodded, wiping the tears away from her eyes. "I won't let anybody else take you away like that! You're mine, not theirs, okay?" Hinata blushed a little. "Okay." She smiled at him. Deidara grinned.

"Deidara-nii-san?" Hinata started. "Hm?" Deidara squeezed her hand to show that he was listening. "Thanks for saving me. I love you!" She hugged his arm. Smiling softly, Deidara said, "I love you too, Hinata." He kissed her lightly on the cheek as they walked up to the family.

-:- Deidara and Sasori 3 years before YTBT (pt 2) -:-

"Leader, we got that thing you asked for!" Deidara called, walking through the halls of the Akatsuki Academy (Junior High Division). He found him in the group's hangout. "Oh, good. Thanks, Deidara." Pein took the package and waved Deidara off. "What, no reward?" Deidara asked jokingly. "What do you want, a cookie?" Pein laughed. "Alright… later tell me what was in the box, alright?" Deidara said, waving as he left the room.

Pein stopped laughing when the door closed. He quickly opened the box, revealing two small rings, one with Konan's name on it, and the other with Pein's name… Wait a second…

Taking a closer look, Pein growled angrily at what he saw. The rings were perfect and all, but the names –his name in particular- was spelled incorrectly.

"Peinis!? PEINIS, WHAT THE HELL!?" he shouted angrily. "I can't be married as 'Peinis'! The bastard ruined me!" he slammed the box onto the desk. "Hiashi Hyuga, you're dead meat."

(And basically that's how this whole 'kill Hinata's Parents' started.)

-:-

Yes. Deidara is dead. His sudden emoness is something even I can't explain -.-


	17. Final: Let Me Make You Mine

For a few days, things around the house were silent and gloomy. Hinata stayed in her room a lot, Sasori coming in every day just to hold her close. They didn't say anything. Neji had to help with the arrangements for the funeral and to tell the school about it. Tobi, since he was there, decided to just stay at Hinata's house for the time being. He wondered how the guys back at the base would take it.

Hinata felt terrible. She couldn't find the strength to get out of the room. So she just sat on the bed, hugging her legs to her chest, resting her head on her knees. Sasori came in just to keep her company. He sat behind her, both legs at her sides and his arms wrapped around hers. He seemed equally sad. They haven't talked in a while, and she wondered what he was thinking most of the time, but couldn't find the strength to speak either. So instead, she just cried.

"Hinata…" Sasori whispered. "The funeral… it's tomorrow." He hugged her tighter to stop her from shaking. Hinata held his hand and squeezed it. Sasori frowned. Gently, he turned her body around and hugged her properly for the first time in a while. Well, it seemed that way. "You feel lighter than before. You haven't been eating much have you?" he kissed her head. "I… I'm not… hungry." Hinata whispered, clutching his shirt tightly. "You've gotta eat something, Hinata." He gently stroked her hair.

"I'll go get us something to eat… we both haven't eaten a lot lately." Sasori moved off the bed, carefully laying Hinata onto the bed. "Do you want anything?" he asked. Hinata shook her head. "I don't care…" she said in a low voice. Sasori squeezed her hand before leaving.

As Sasori walked down the stairs, he noticed Tobi sitting in the living room. "How are you doing?" he asked, leaving the kitchen door open in case he decided to respond. "I've been better…" Tobi said. "Sorry to hear that." The two shared a comfortable silence. "How's Hinata-chan?" Tobi asked, concerned. Sasori paused for a minute. "…She's really sad. I hope she'll start eating properly again soon." He answered, pouring a glass of water. "Do you want anything?" he asked. Tobi shook his head. "I'm fine. Thanks, Sasori-sempai."

Sighing, Sasori leaned on the counter to think. _It's never been this quiet back at the Akatsuki base when someone died…_ suddenly, small images of Deidara filled his mind.

"_Brothers for life!"_

Choking back a small sob, he took the food and went back upstairs. "Let me know if you need anything, Tobi." He said softly. "Yeah."

Returning to Hinata's room, he found her asleep on the bed, the pillow wet from fallen tears. He set the food on the desk, moving under the covers with Hinata. He hugged her. "I'm sorry." He whispered, letting one tear fall out.

-:-

As they lowered the casket, Sasori laid an arm over Hinata's shoulders. She didn't cry; it didn't even seem like she was breathing. He rested her head on hers, listening to the rain begin to fall. They forgot 

to bring an umbrella. They stood there until it was only them left, Hinata, Sasori, Neji, and Tobi. No one said anything. It was silent until all four decided to go home.

When they arrived at the house (Which was around 4 or 4:30), they all took off their soaking wet jackets and went to their rooms to change. Sasori walked into Hinata's room, sitting on her bed until she was finished changing. She ran into his arms and cried. "Sasori…" She whispered. Sasori kissed her, wiping her tears away. "I'm sorry." He said softly, stroking her hair. They stayed like that for a while until they heard the phone ring.

"Hinata, phone for you." Neji opened the door a little bit. Hinata wiped her eyes and cleared her throat before answering. "Hello?" She said into the phone.

"_Hinata… I'm so sorry._" It was Ino. "Oh… That's okay." Hinata responded in a soft voice. "_Are you alright? Do you need me over there?_" She asked. "N-No, you don't have to trouble yourself like that-"

"_Trouble my butt! I'm coming over there, alright?_" Before Hinata could protest, Ino hung up the phone. Hinata sighed. "Ino's coming over. Is that okay?" she asked Neji, who nodded. "Don't be too loud, alright? I'll be sleeping in my room." Neji smiled slightly at them.

In a few minutes Ino had arrived. "Hinata!" She hugged Hinata tightly, swaying her around a little. "So much has happened to you! Four people so important in your life have gone… I promise to be there for you no matter what!" Ino held a thumbs up sign and smiled. Hinata nodded. "Thank you." She said, smiling as well.

"Oh hey, we should go somewhere!" Ino said, grinning. "U-Um… where?" Hinata asked as Ino pulled her out the door. "I dunno! A girl's day out place!" Ino looked excited, and despite her sad feeling she didn't want to make Ino unhappy. "Um… O-Okay… T-Tobi-san, could you please tell Sasori that me and Ino are going somewhere? Thanks!" The door closed.

Tobi watched them walk away from the window. "Golly, this town is full of pretty girls!" he said. "If only Deidara-sempai were still alive; I bet I could find him a new girlfriend." He laughed as he went upstairs to tell Sasori that Hinata and Ino had gone out.

"Hey, Tobi… Come here for a minute." Sasori said, still sitting in Hinata's room. "What is it, Sasori-sempai?" Tobi sat across from Sasori on the bed. "It's about Deidara… how exactly do you know him?" he asked. Shrugging, Tobi answered, "I was his replacement partner because you left. I don't think he liked me very much, but I thought we were best buddies!" he giggled a bit at that. "I see…" Sasori stared at him for a little bit.

"Why do you wear that mask all the time?" he asked. Again, Tobi shrugged. "It's just my style." There was an awkward silence after that. "…Alright. Thanks. You can leave now." Sasori said, lying down on the bed and sighing. "Okay, Sasori-sempai. Fell better, alright?" Tobi said, leaving the room.

-:-



"I-Ino-chan… where are you taking me?" Hinata asked as they walked quickly down the streets of Konoha. Ino shrugged. "I dunno. Where do you want to go?" She asked, smiling. "You're as bad with dates as Sasori is!" Hinata laughed. "Really? How bad is he?" Ino asked, giggling. "So bad, that he counted making out as a date (this one time…)" They both laughed. "I'm so happy to hear that you two are back together, though. How is he, by the way?" Hinata's laughter faded. She stayed silent for a while.

Ino glanced back at her. "Sorry, did I make things awkward? Are things not going well between you two again?" she asked apologetically. Hinata shook her head. "It's… complicated. I love him… and he loves me… but sometimes we do things that one of us doesn't like… and…" Ino squeezed her hand.

"That's how it is with me and Shika sometimes, too. He's always shy and whenever I kiss him in public he always turns red and pretends he doesn't care. But I know that's just how he is." She giggled. "Maybe he can't help doing the things he does, Sasori I mean. Maybe that's just the way he does things." Hinata smiled at her. _Thanks for trying to make sense of it all for me, Ino-chan._

"Ooh! Hey, there's this cute café I've always wanted to try out! Let's go, okay?" Ino walked faster towards the small building. "And I heard they make a great cup of coffee. How's that sound?" Ino smiled at her. Hinata followed her into the building. "That sounds nice… wow!" Hinata stared happily at the cakes on display at the register. "Want one?" Ino asked. Hinata nodded. "The cheesecake…" she said. "C-Can I really have one?" Hinata asked. Ino nodded.

"Thank you so much!" Hinata hugged her tightly. "Y-Yeah… Not so tight… Ehehe…" Ino laughed a little. "Ah, I should get one for Sasori too… but I don't have money…" Ino smiled.

The two stayed at the shop for a while and ended up leaving with three cheesecakes, one for Ino, Hinata and one for Sasori. "Thank you so much, Ino-chan!" Hinata smiled. "Not a problem. Glad I could be there to make you happy." Ino held her hand and grinned. They continued to walk back to Hinata's house until Ino's cell phone rang.

"Hello?" she said. "AH! Really? That's now!? I'm sorry, Hinata, but I need to be at the shop, quick!" Hinata nodded as Ino ran down the sidewalk and made a sharp turn to the left, towards the Yamanaka Flower shop.

-:- About Half an Hour Earlier -:-

Sasori was left alone for the time being. _Maybe… I'll go back to Deidara's…_ without thinking, he started walking towards the front door. He put on his jacket. "Tobi, I'm going out." He muttered to Tobi. "See you later." He responded. "Hm."

Almost depressingly, he walked towards the cemetery, finding Deidara's grave atop a small hill. He seemed to be the only one there, so he sat down in front of the recently buried grave. It didn't have the gravestone yet, but he could still tell it was Deidara's from the surroundings and other people buried there.



It's only been a few hours since, but Sasori couldn't help but feel that it's been a lot longer than that. He thought for a moment looking up at the sky. It was almost dusk, he realized. The sky was tinted a nice orange that Deidara, he knew, would love to find in one of his future paintings. He looked back down at the ground, a sad look in his eye. "Great… you died…" he muttered, bringing his knees up to his chest.

A cold wind blew across the cemetery. "Did you think I'd actually _like_ to kill you? Those threats I said before were all jokes, if you didn't notice!" he said, almost choking out a sob. "I thought you _wanted_ to go back to Akatsuki! I thought that you didn't care to stay at the house anymore!" A tear escaped his eye. "Fuck…" Sasori ran a hand through his hair and gripped it tightly. With his other hand he wiped the tears away, leaning his head on his knees.

"I thought you said we'd be brothers for life!" He cursed under his breath.

--

Hinata looked up at the sky, admiring the warm orange color. She smiled. It was almost dusk, she realized. It was a little late, and she was thinking that Tobi would be hungry by now. _I should hurry home then, huh?_ She thought. A sudden gust of wind turned her attention towards the nearby cemetery. She noticed a familiar figure sitting in front of where Deidara's grave would be. _Who is…_

She walked towards the cemetery, breaking into a run when she realized that it was Sasori. She heard quiet sobs from him and saw that he was crying. "Sasori…" She whispered. He didn't hear her.

When she finally reached him, she wrapped her arms around him tightly. He stiffened for a moment, and then relaxed a bit. He continued to cry silently for a little more. "Hinata…" he whispered hoarsely. She moved his hand so that their fingers interlaced. "Do you think that I killed him on purpose…?" he asked. Hinata furiously shook her head. "I'd never think that…" she moved in front of him and held his face.

"I was never happy to kill. Never." He said, shaking her hands off. "Especially when… When I was told to kill that one girl…" Hinata's eyes widened. _He doesn't mean…_ "I don't remember her name… but she was the youngest person I killed –she had pink hair… and green eyes…" Hinata froze. "I never would have killed her if it weren't for the fact that I would've been killed myself if I didn't…"

Hinata stood up, letting go of Sasori's hand. She began walking out of the cemetery, Sasori following her. "Hinata? What's wrong?" he asked, quickly catching up to her. She ignored him all the way home. "Please don't do this, Hinata. What's wrong?" he asked as they arrived at the house.

"Ah, Hinata-chan, could you please cook-" Hinata ignored Tobi as well, quickly walking up the stairs. "Sasori-sempai, can you cook-" Sasori didn't even look his way, chasing after Hinata up the stairs. The second she tried to close the door, Sasori slipped into her room.

By now Hinata had tears rolling down her cheeks. "Hinata, please…" Sasori said, grabbing her arm. She tried to shake him off but it didn't work. She let out a small sob, sitting down on the bed. Sasori had an extremely worried look on his face. His hand moved down her arm to hold her hand, gently squeezing it. 

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked softly. Hinata started shaking. She choked on a sob and shook her head, refusing to tell him anything.

Sasori let out a low growl, pushing her onto the bed and crawling on top of her. "Hinata, tell me what's wrong!" he commanded, pinning her arms above her head. "That…" Hinata stopped herself. "Tell me!" Sasori said, unintentionally raising his voice at her. "That girl… the one you were talking about…" The tears kept falling. "She… She was…" she trailed off. _Why is it getting so hard for her to tell me?_ Sasori asked himself, gritting his teeth.

"Her name was Sakura Haruno! Sh-She was… my best friend!" Hinata shouted, wriggling her arms from his grip. She wiped her tears away. "Nngh… She was killed… by you." She whispered. Sasori growled, moving her arms away from her face. He pinned her down again and looked into her eyes. "You think I was happy about what I did!? I didn't even want to join Akatsuki! I never even wanted to leave home!" he yelled. "I've let myself get used to the idea of killing! And because of that, I could kill without hesitation! But that never _ever_ meant that I liked it!"

Hinata tried to shake off his grasp, but he only held it tighter. "Don't make it sound like I wanted to kill her!" they stayed silent after that. "Hinata, I love you. I'd never do anything if it meant that it would hurt you." He lowered his voice. "I love you so much. And now, after everything I've done –good and bad – I want to know…" he loosened his grip on her wrists. "Do you love me after all?"

Her silence frightened him. He leaned down and kissed her deeply. "Please… don't leave me like this." Sasori kissed her again, waiting for some kind of response. Hinata began crying again. Sasori tightly wrapped his arms around her tightly, his lips still against hers. He moved them further onto the bed. "I need you here with me." He whispered, removing her jacket. She didn't protest, so he continued.

He kissed her neck, still awaiting Hinata to answer his question. She stayed silent, except for the soft moans. Angrily, Sasori moved back to her lips, pushing her against him. He kissed her roughly then pulled away. "Answer me! Do you love me?" he asked one last time. A few tears escaped her eyes. "Sasori…" She said in a pleading voice. "…I don't know anymore…"

A sudden lonely feeling rushed over him. "No… Wait… don't abandon me like this!" Sasori said desperately. He kissed her over and over. "Hinata… You have no idea how much I need you… I love you so much…" Hinata turned her head so that she couldn't see him. "I'd do anything to prove it to you. Anything." He whispered, moving her face to look at him. "Sasori…" She started to cry. Sasori wiped away the tears with his small kisses.

"I want to love you… I really do! It's just that… I don't know how!" Hinata held his hand and squeezed it tightly. Sasori paused, looking into her eyes. He kissed her. "Let me make you mine… And I'll teach you how." He whispered into her ear. He wrapped his arms around her, his hands moving up her shirt. "Let me have you right now. We'll teach each other how to love." He removed her shirt and kissed her neck. Hinata closed her eyes and squeezed it shut.

"…Okay." She whispered.



-:-The Morning After -:-

Sasori and Hinata woke up at the same time. They stayed silent for a while.

"…Sasori…" Hinata whispered. Sasori hugged her a bit tighter. "I… I love you." Sasori smiled, kissing her head. "I love you too." He said.

Hinata closed her eyes, remembering last night. She turned red. _We… did it last night…_ she thought, trying to remember if it felt good or bad. _It felt…_ she looked up at Sasori and smiled. _…right. _He suddenly moved on top of her and kissed her again. "I forgot to say good morning." He said, laughing a little. Hinata giggled. "Good morning. Are you hungry?" She asked. Sasori shook his head. "If I were, I'd have you again." He whispered seductively in her ear.

_He's back to his old self again…_ she thought, kissing him lightly on the cheek. "I'll go cook breakfast for Tobi and Neji-nii-san then." She got out of bed and put on a big shirt from her drawer and slipped on a pair of shorts. "I'll see you downstairs, alright?" she said, stretching. "Yeah." Sasori muttered. Hinata smiled as she walked out the door and downstairs to the kitchen.

"Hinata-chan, Morning!" Tobi greeted, saluting her. "Oh! Morning, Tobi!" Hinata smiled at him. "Hinata-chan, can I ask you something?" Tobi said, following her into the kitchen. He sat down at the table as Hinata prepared to make breakfast. "Sure, Tobi." Hinata glanced at him. "What were those loud moans I heard from your room last night? Are you okay?" Tobi asked innocently. Hinata turned dark red. "U-Um… S-S-Sorry… Did I wake you?" Hinata asked, turning around.

Tobi shook his head. "No, I'm just worried about you. I heard Sasori moaning a bit too, is he alright?" he asked. Hinata nodded furiously, her blush turning a bit darker. _Were we that loud? Oh, I hope Neji-nii-san didn't hear-_

"Yeah, both of you were moaning pretty loudly last night." Neji walked into the kitchen, scratching his head. He still looked sleepy, but he came down anyway. "Oh… M-Morning, Neji-nii-san." Hinata said, laughing awkwardly. "Just what were you doing?" Neji asked, eying her worriedly. "U-Um… N-Nothing really…" _We were just having sex, nothing big…_ Hinata turned around to avoid eye contact. "Are you sure?" Neji asked. "Y-Yeah! Totally! Nothing out of the ordinary!"

"Sorry, did Hinata here wake you guys up last night?" Sasori asked, walking into the kitchen and wrapping an arm around Hinata. "S-Sasori!" Hinata squeaked. "We _really_ got it going last night, didn't we?" Sasori laughed, earning a glare from Neji. "Hinata, what does he mean?" he asked. Sasori smirked. "Me and Hinata fu-!" Hinata clamped a hand over Sasori's mouth.

"N-Neji-nii-san… Sasori and I… Um… D-D-Did… it… last night…" Hinata fidgeted under both Neji and Tobi's gaze. "What?" Neji asked, a hint of anger in his voice. "Me and Hinata had sex last night!" Sasori blurted out. Tobi cheered a small 'Woo hoo, Go Sasori-sempai!'. Neji frowned. "Hinata…" he said in an 'I'm not happy about this' voice.



"I-I'm sorry… B-But… W-We were going through… a tough moment and… it somehow led to-" Hinata tried to explain. "Hinata, you're only sixteen! How can you have sex when you're only sixteen!" Neji scolded. "Hey, lay off man. I talked her into it." Sasori defended. "You're sixteen, too! And it was right after a funeral, too! That is so…" Neji calmed himself before he got too carried away.

"You two aren't even married." He said. Hinata spoke up. "W-We will be! When we're old enough, we'll get married!" She said confidently. Sasori smiled. "And… this won't seem as bad anymore." She said in a softer voice. "You two honestly think that you can keep a relationship up until you're twenty? That's four years, you know that?" Neji said. Sasori nodded. "I know."

The room was silent for a while. "U-Um… Hinata-chan, Sasori-sempai, I think I'll go back to Akatsuki today."

"Ah…" Hinata was a little late in telling Tobi to shut up.

"Akatsuki?" Neji asked. Tobi nodded, not noticing the 'stop' and 'abort mission' signs from Hinata and Sasori. "Yeah, Akatsuki. You know, that evil organization that kills people and stuff… Sasori's part of it too." Sasori sighed in annoyance.

"Hinata… what's he talking about?" Neji asked Hinata. She laughed awkwardly and stepped forward. She cleared her throat and then began talking. "Neji-nii-san… I think it's time that we've told you…" Hinata glanced at Sasori, who nodded. "…Since _Tobi_ spilled the beans…" he muttered, taking a seat at the table. Neji adjusted himself in his seat and waited to be informed on everything.

"Well… first of all… Deidara-nii-san was the one who…"

--

It took Neji a moment to register all that they said. Hinata and Sasori held hands under the table, waiting anxiously for Neji's response. A few minutes of suspenseful silence followed, and then Neji sighed and looked at him.

"Okay, so… Deidara was the one… who killed mom and dad." He repeated. Hinata nodded.

"He was also the one who was responsible in killing all those other people in Konoha." He paused.

"Then, Sasori came, and he was the one responsible for the increase in deaths of the people in Konoha." Sasori nodded this time.

"Then… you two fell in love." Neji said that in a low voice. "And… Sasori was the one who… killed Deidara." They all stayed silent at that. "But… Deidara didn't want to live anymore, so he asked you to kill him, right?" Sasori nodded again. "And Sasori doesn't kill anymore." Hinata squeezed Sasori's hand. "That's right." She said.

Neji stayed silent for a moment. "Okay." He said plainly. "What?" Hinata asked. "Okay. Hinata, despite the fact that I'm totally against Akatsuki in every possible way –no offense Tobi-san – I trust you and 

your judgment. I trust that you know right from wrong and know what you are doing. And you two obviously are happy together, and no matter what you did before will only help make you stronger in the future." He paused for a breath.

"And I won't stop you." Hinata got up and hugged Neji tightly. "Thank you! You have no idea how much I've wanted to tell you all this!" she said happily. "Neji-nii-san, you're the greatest!" Neji hugged her back with one arm. "Alright, alright. Could you make breakfast now? I'm getting hungry." He said. "Can I stay for breakfast, too?" Tobi asked. Hinata laughed. "Of course you can."

Sasori pulled Hinata into a tight hug and kissed her. "I love you!" he declared. Hinata giggled. "I love you too." She hugged him.

-:-

Next Chapter: Epilogue

-:-

Yes, the end.

Sorry for the randomness and the not-so-planned-out plot. See you in my other stories (oh, and the epilogue, too!)!!

-TheWindAlchemist


	18. Epilogue

_10 years later…_

Sasori (Age 26) straightened up his tie and adjusted his blazer so that it felt more comfortable. Then he combed his hands through his hair, somehow making it look neater. He glanced at Hinata (Also age 26), who was in front of the other mirror in the room, constantly adjusting the clips in her hair. "Ooh! I just can't get this right!" she said, a hopeless look on her face. Sasori chuckled softly. "You look fine, my dear." He said to her. "No! It has to look perfect!" Hinata snapped back, not meaning to sound rude or angry.

"…Well can you get it right a little faster? We're going to be late." Sasori walked to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "You look great. Leave the clips alone, they're fine the way they are." He said, moving her hair to kiss her cheek. "Aww… but I don't like the way they kinda slide out of place whenever I move…" Hinata whined. Sasori sighed, taking the clips off her hair and observing them. "Deidara gave these to you, right?" he asked, his arm still wrapped around her. She nodded. "That's why I have to wear them!"

"Can't argue with that…" Sasori turned her around. He studied her face and then her hair, trying to quickly figure out where to put the hair clips to leave Hinata satisfied. "God, you're beautiful." He said, kissing her. Hinata giggled. "Thank you." She said. Sasori gently moved her hair so that her side bangs were held up by the hair clips. Her hair was already up in a bun, and she was wearing a dress that matched the clips perfectly, so the place where he put them were in a completely perfect and comfortable spot. "Look." He turned her so that she could see herself in the mirror.

She let out a small gasp. "Oh, Sasori… that looks great!" She said, kissing him. "Shall we go to the party, now?" Sasori offered his arm for Hinata to take. She gladly accepted. "I'll drive, okay?" he said, opening the car door for Hinata. He went to the driver's seat of the car and put the key in the ignition. He paused, letting the keys hang from the ignition and sighed.

"Ten years already, huh?" he thought aloud. Hinata nodded. "Ten years since Deidara-nii-san…" Sasori heard a soft sniffle come from his wife. "Aw… Come on, don't cry. You'll ruin your make-up…" Hinata wiped her eyes. "I-I'm not wearing make-up…" She said. Sasori smiled. "Right… you're that beautiful. But still, don't cry." He wrapped an arm around her. He kissed her head, and then continued to start the car. "I love you." He said, holding her hand as he drove the car out of the driveway.

-:-

Six years ago, Sasori had proposed to Hinata. She of course said yes, their honeymoon being a simple vacation to another village. When they got back, they found a nice house that was close to the one Neji decided to stay in. This way he wouldn't be able to hear the occasional moans from them whenever they had sex. That was the sole reason they moved out anyway, besides wanting a place on their own when they finally had kids of their own.

Even after high school and college, Hinata and Ino still kept in touch. Ino and Shikamaru got married a little before Hinata and Sasori did, so they celebrated both their anniversaries in one big party (imagine their 50th anniversary).

The secret of Deidara and Sasori being in Akatsuki stayed only between them, Sasori, Hinata, and Neji. The whole story was kept secret from the world. Though Sasori sometimes feared that the Akatsukis that he abandoned would come back to spread the word. Even though they were S-ranked criminals, they were still his friends, and occasionally he'd wonder how they were doing.

-:-

As they arrived at the small building where the party was, Hinata took a deep breath and sighed. "You okay?" Sasori asked, squeezing her hand. "Yeah. Just getting ready. I don't want to cry." Hinata answered, smiling. Sasori kissed her. "Neither do I." he laughed. He parked the car, opening the door for Hinata like a gentleman. "Neji's gonna be mad at us for being late." Sasori said to her. "…Yeah…" Hinata agreed, laughing.

When they entered the building, Hinata was immediately glomped by Ino. "Hinata! You're finally here!" she squealed, hugging her tightly. "Y-Yeah…" Hinata hugged her back, trying to regain her balance. "Jeez, what took you two so long?" Neji asked. Sasori laughed. "See, I told you he'd be mad!" he said to Hinata, helping her up off the floor. Hinata smiled at him. "Sorry, Neji-nii-san." She said. Neji paused, then sighed. "Bah, I can't stay mad at you no matter what I do." Neji sighed.

--

The party was to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Deidara's death. It was ending too, after laughing, crying, and catching up with people they haven't seen in a while. It lasted for a long time and it ended in a small prayer. Everyone left one by one until Sasori, Neji, and Hinata were left.

"Good night, Neji-nii-san. See you later." Hinata said, kissing him lightly on the cheek. "Yeah, g'night." He responded.

Sasori was driving home, Hinata half-sleeping on his shoulder. He glanced at her and smiled, giving her a light kiss on the head. She smiled a little. When they arrived home, Sasori decided to just carry her into the house and put her on the bed as he changed into pajamas. "It's your choice if you wanna change or not." He said to Hinata, who he knew was still awake. She let out a small groan and rolled over on the bed. "I'm tired!" She whined, hugging the pillow.

Sighing, he slipped on a random shirt and walked over to Hinata. He tickled her sides until she agreed to just change out of her clothes. "Besides, it'll be hard to get that dress off without ruining it tonight…" he said, making Hinata turn red. "You're kidding, right? This is like the hundredth time already!" she laughed, crawling into bed. Sasori immediately moved on top of her. "Come on, a hundred is only three small numbers put together." He kissed her.

He leaned down next to her. "And I want a kid." He whispered. Hinata turned a darker red. "U-Um… A-A-Alright…?" Sasori laughed. "You're so cute!" he said happily, turning off the lights.

-:-

I have a feeling that all the stories I write (that have a Hinata pairing) will end like this… -.-U

Okay then… last words for a story, last words for a story… hmm…

Bye!


End file.
